1 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:11,120 Speaker 1: And it's freaking early. It's six thirty eight. I wanted 2 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:15,640 Speaker 1: to leave at six thirty, but that's fine, and I 3 00:00:15,680 --> 00:00:20,479 Speaker 1: am headed to the Martin County Courthouse. It's day one 4 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:24,360 Speaker 1: of the Energy Transfer versus Greenpeace trial in Mandan, North Dakota. 5 00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:27,640 Speaker 1: The courthouse won't open until seven thirty, but I heard 6 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:29,800 Speaker 1: there was very limited seating in the courtroom, and I 7 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:31,600 Speaker 1: want to be sure to get in, even if it 8 00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:34,720 Speaker 1: means waiting outside the door until it opens. Last week 9 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:39,840 Speaker 1: it was thirty below. Luckily, right now it's about thirty 10 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:45,080 Speaker 1: six degrees, so if I'm standing around outside, I will survive. 11 00:00:46,159 --> 00:00:48,800 Speaker 1: It's important that I'm there to listen because no one's 12 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:52,960 Speaker 1: going to get to record anything inside the trial. You know, 13 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:57,240 Speaker 1: we had some pretty unfavorable rulings from the judge about 14 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:02,280 Speaker 1: press access. I'm pretty irritated that I'm not going to 15 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:05,720 Speaker 1: be able to bring anything except a pen and paper 16 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:11,600 Speaker 1: in there. The judge is worried about witness contamination and 17 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:19,600 Speaker 1: jury contamination, so he ruled that. So he ruled that 18 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:26,199 Speaker 1: we can't even record on our cell phones for note 19 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:31,240 Speaker 1: taking purposes. Drilled In several other media organizations filed a 20 00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:33,960 Speaker 1: request for a live stream of the trial. When the 21 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:36,600 Speaker 1: judge said no, we asked to just be able to 22 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:38,880 Speaker 1: record so we could get the quotes right. That was 23 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:42,160 Speaker 1: a node too. Now we're waiting on the North Dakota 24 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:45,120 Speaker 1: Supreme Court to respond to our appeal, but I'm not 25 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:48,800 Speaker 1: feeling optimistic. I pull up to the courthouse. The parking 26 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:52,279 Speaker 1: spots in front of the brick building are empty. Okay, 27 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:53,560 Speaker 1: the sheriff's the only one here. 28 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:54,400 Speaker 2: Me and the sheriff. 29 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:00,280 Speaker 1: I parked the car and head in, leaving my recorder behind. 30 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:03,800 Speaker 1: I did not need to get here this early, but 31 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:06,480 Speaker 1: it gives me time to take in the scene. The 32 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:09,280 Speaker 1: courtroom is humble. It could be an office space if 33 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:12,080 Speaker 1: it wasn't for all the wood furniture. I sit on 34 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:14,680 Speaker 1: a light colored wood bench that looks like a church pew. 35 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:18,560 Speaker 1: In front of me, dark wood paneling frames the judges bench, 36 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:22,080 Speaker 1: and the door to his chambers. Everything is laid out 37 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:24,799 Speaker 1: exactly like you'd expect, with a jury box to the 38 00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:28,680 Speaker 1: judges left. A law enforcement officer wearing a tactical vest 39 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:32,880 Speaker 1: observes from a corner of the room. Other observers sit 40 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:36,640 Speaker 1: down around me. They're mostly green peace people. The judge 41 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:40,040 Speaker 1: enters from behind the stand and we all stand up. 42 00:02:40,639 --> 00:02:43,800 Speaker 1: Judge James Gien is around seventy, with white hair and 43 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:47,520 Speaker 1: a white beard and tired lines down his face. When 44 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:49,400 Speaker 1: I look him up later, I'll learn that in his 45 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:52,839 Speaker 1: spare time he plays guitar and harmonica. Used to play 46 00:02:52,840 --> 00:03:01,480 Speaker 1: in a country band called Dakota Gold. Welcome the potential jurors. 47 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:05,440 Speaker 1: Around thirty file into the room, filling the reserved audience piece. 48 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:10,480 Speaker 1: They're every day mid Westerners, dressed casually. Almost all of 49 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:17,880 Speaker 1: them are life. Judge Gean greets the jurors with a 50 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:21,360 Speaker 1: notable North Dakota accent. I want to congratulate you on 51 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 1: being chosen for jury duty because it is one of 52 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:32,280 Speaker 1: the highest obligations and privileges of our democratic system. Only 53 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:34,960 Speaker 1: eleven people will actually sit on the jury for this trial. 54 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:37,960 Speaker 1: The lawyers for Energy Transfer in green Peace will spend 55 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:41,120 Speaker 1: the next two days selecting them. Greenpeace has been trying 56 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:44,160 Speaker 1: for years now to move this trial to a different county. 57 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:47,840 Speaker 1: They say that Morton County residents are so biased against 58 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 1: the anti pipeline protesters that there's no way Greenpeace could 59 00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:55,280 Speaker 1: get a fair trial. Every judge in this district recused 60 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:58,920 Speaker 1: themselves from the case because of conflicts. The court had 61 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:02,120 Speaker 1: to pull judge Gean from rural western North Dakota for this, 62 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:06,360 Speaker 1: but Green Piece is stuck with Morton County jurors. I'm 63 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:08,680 Speaker 1: not even sure there will be any jurors left. After 64 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:13,200 Speaker 1: Greenpeace weeds out the biased ones. The curtain is raised 65 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:16,120 Speaker 1: and the trial is set to begin. It's scheduled to 66 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:19,479 Speaker 1: last five weeks, but the next two days of jury 67 00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:24,400 Speaker 1: selection will be what decides Greenpiece's fate. In fact, maybe 68 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:28,320 Speaker 1: it's already decided. This season of Drilled, we bring you 69 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:32,039 Speaker 1: Slapped the story of an indigenous nation fighting for its water, 70 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:37,320 Speaker 1: an environmental nonprofit facing extinction, and an energy giant using 71 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:56,880 Speaker 1: the courts to punish protesters. I'm Ellen Brown. Jury selection begins. 72 00:04:57,760 --> 00:05:01,360 Speaker 1: Energy Transfers lawyer Trey Cox stands behind a little podium 73 00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:04,720 Speaker 1: facing the potential jurors. He's blonde and looks like a 74 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:08,159 Speaker 1: high school football coach. He's got an intense energy, like 75 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:11,680 Speaker 1: he's about to unleash something. Neither side is using their 76 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:14,880 Speaker 1: staff attorneys for this case. An Energy transfer has hired 77 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:17,599 Speaker 1: a real doozy of a law firm. Trey and most 78 00:05:17,640 --> 00:05:19,880 Speaker 1: of the other lawyers for the company come from Gibson, 79 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:22,839 Speaker 1: Dunn and Crutcher. Maybe you don't know their name, but 80 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:26,320 Speaker 1: you know their work. The firm argued the landmark Supreme 81 00:05:26,360 --> 00:05:30,320 Speaker 1: Court case Citizens United. That's the one that used the 82 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:32,880 Speaker 1: First Amendment to get rid of limits on certain types 83 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:38,640 Speaker 1: of political donations. Trey introduces himself with the subtle Southern accent. 84 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:44,080 Speaker 1: He weaves in personal details I guess to sound relatable. 85 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:48,960 Speaker 1: I'm originally from Shreveport, Louisiana, he says. I ended up 86 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:53,240 Speaker 1: following not a girl, but the girl to Dallas, Texas. 87 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:55,880 Speaker 1: When I look it up later, I'll see that Trey 88 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:59,120 Speaker 1: is married to Aaron neely Cox, a former US prosecutor 89 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:04,400 Speaker 1: appointed by Donald Trump. Trey begins asking the potential jurors questions. 90 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:07,480 Speaker 1: Is there anyone uncomfortable or feel like they will struggle 91 00:06:07,560 --> 00:06:10,400 Speaker 1: to award a pipeline company like my client something in 92 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:13,800 Speaker 1: the neighborhood of three hundred million dollars if the evidence 93 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:20,039 Speaker 1: and law supported it. No one raises their hand. Greenpeace's lawyer, 94 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:24,159 Speaker 1: Everett Jack takes his turn. He wears a tomato red 95 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:26,920 Speaker 1: striped tie and parts his hair to the side. He's 96 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:30,400 Speaker 1: lanky and his face looks a little warm. He tells 97 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:33,720 Speaker 1: the potential jurors that his hometown is Portland, Oregon, and 98 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:37,440 Speaker 1: that he's married with two daughters and three grandkids. Feel 99 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:39,280 Speaker 1: like Everett Jack could be cast in the role of 100 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:42,560 Speaker 1: Atticus Finch, the lawyer in the book To Kill a Mockingbird. 101 00:06:42,920 --> 00:06:46,279 Speaker 1: In real life, he's married to Fay Resnik, a recurring 102 00:06:46,320 --> 00:06:50,279 Speaker 1: guest star on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Chris Jenner, 103 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:55,680 Speaker 1: the matriarch of the Kardashian family, officiated their wedding. As 104 00:06:55,720 --> 00:06:58,359 Speaker 1: Everett begins to question the group of jurors, a pattern 105 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:02,600 Speaker 1: emerges Dure after jur says that hearing about the standing 106 00:07:02,640 --> 00:07:05,920 Speaker 1: Route protests reminds them of what they call the disruption 107 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:10,280 Speaker 1: in our community. One woman puts it plainly, I think 108 00:07:10,280 --> 00:07:13,560 Speaker 1: you'll have a tough time finding people completely unbiased on 109 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:18,120 Speaker 1: that because it affected everyone. Everett Jack follows up, how 110 00:07:18,200 --> 00:07:20,760 Speaker 1: many of you feel the same way? All but a 111 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:24,880 Speaker 1: handful of people raise their hands. Everett asks another question, 112 00:07:25,880 --> 00:07:28,000 Speaker 1: is there anybody that hurt a rumor that there were 113 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:31,760 Speaker 1: paid protesters out at the protest site? Nearly all the 114 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:35,120 Speaker 1: hands in the room go up. My mind wanders back 115 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:37,520 Speaker 1: to those internal documents that had been leaked to me 116 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:41,000 Speaker 1: years back by someone who worked with Energy Transfer's private 117 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:45,000 Speaker 1: security contractor, Tiger Swan, back when I'd been interested in 118 00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:47,360 Speaker 1: what kind of spying Tiger Swan was doing for the 119 00:07:47,360 --> 00:07:51,760 Speaker 1: oil company. But going through the documents, I realized that 120 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:55,800 Speaker 1: they were doing more than just surveillance. The files referenced 121 00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:58,760 Speaker 1: a social media campaign carried out by a guy named 122 00:07:58,840 --> 00:08:00,720 Speaker 1: Rob Rice. Here's Rob. 123 00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:05,520 Speaker 3: There's a new trend among anti pipeline protesters online. It's PayPal. 124 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:08,760 Speaker 3: Last year Standing Rock, we saw one of twenty million 125 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:11,880 Speaker 3: dollars raised by protesters who set up thousands of gofund 126 00:08:11,960 --> 00:08:12,560 Speaker 3: me accounts. 127 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:16,280 Speaker 1: Tigerswan was paying Rob Rice to develop Facebook pages aimed 128 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:19,360 Speaker 1: at local community members, like the ones in the jury pool. Now, 129 00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:22,840 Speaker 1: Rob posted videos where he posed as a news anchor 130 00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:26,200 Speaker 1: reporting on the protesters. He said that they were paid 131 00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:30,040 Speaker 1: outside agitators. He also said that they were working to 132 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:34,000 Speaker 1: hide how they raised money. Ironically, Rob failed to share 133 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:36,800 Speaker 1: in these videos that he himself was being paid by 134 00:08:36,920 --> 00:08:37,600 Speaker 1: Tiger Swan. 135 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:41,480 Speaker 3: Now, paid protesters are switching their tactics. They're beginning to 136 00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:44,439 Speaker 3: use PayPal as their main method of raising money. Why 137 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:47,120 Speaker 3: because you can't tell how much they've raised or what 138 00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:47,880 Speaker 3: they're using it for. 139 00:08:48,280 --> 00:08:51,439 Speaker 1: The paid protester will come up again and again as 140 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:54,640 Speaker 1: the boogeyman of this trial. It's an old trope that 141 00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:57,560 Speaker 1: says that protests do not come from local communities with 142 00:08:57,640 --> 00:09:02,720 Speaker 1: serious grievances. Instead, they're driven by professional outsiders and people 143 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:06,480 Speaker 1: making money off of disruption. Back in nineteen fourteen, the 144 00:09:06,559 --> 00:09:09,640 Speaker 1: Rockefellers and Standard Oil used this claim against a coal 145 00:09:09,679 --> 00:09:13,240 Speaker 1: miner strike. In recent years, the idea of the professional 146 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:16,199 Speaker 1: protester has popped up more and more as mass protest 147 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:19,600 Speaker 1: movements have grabbed headlines. And it turns out Energy Transfer 148 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:22,760 Speaker 1: started pushing that narrative in Morton County nearly a decade ago. 149 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:27,160 Speaker 1: Neither Rob Rice nor Tiger Swan responded to my requests 150 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:30,480 Speaker 1: for comment, and I found no evidence that Tiger Swan 151 00:09:30,559 --> 00:09:33,120 Speaker 1: was specifically trying to influence a jury pool back then. 152 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:36,880 Speaker 1: But what I do know is that Energy Transfer continued 153 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:45,520 Speaker 1: to aim messaging at the local community. Before I flew 154 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:48,200 Speaker 1: into town, I was looking through a website energy Transfer 155 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:52,640 Speaker 1: had recently launched, called Taking Back the Truth. It's dedicated 156 00:09:52,679 --> 00:09:55,600 Speaker 1: to quote setting the record straight, not only on oil 157 00:09:55,640 --> 00:09:59,240 Speaker 1: and gas, the lifeblood of our modern society, but our 158 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:03,920 Speaker 1: projects and our company. The pipeline company had also posted 159 00:10:03,920 --> 00:10:07,200 Speaker 1: photos on Twitter of North Dakodin's holding giant checks the 160 00:10:07,240 --> 00:10:13,319 Speaker 1: company donated to community groups. Even more bizarrely, last fall, 161 00:10:13,480 --> 00:10:16,520 Speaker 1: these weird newspapers started appearing at the doors of Warren 162 00:10:16,559 --> 00:10:21,880 Speaker 1: County residents. Sandwiched in between articles criticizing Kamala Harris or 163 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:26,520 Speaker 1: analyzing the dangers of quote unquote illegal aliens were stories 164 00:10:26,559 --> 00:10:30,520 Speaker 1: describing negative things that happened related to the Standing Rock protests. 165 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:34,840 Speaker 1: Those protests were a long time ago. These weren't articles 166 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:39,040 Speaker 1: of normal newspaper would publish. According to their court filings, 167 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:42,839 Speaker 1: Greenpeace uncovered a murky trail of funds that connects these 168 00:10:42,880 --> 00:10:47,360 Speaker 1: weird newspapers to Energy Transfer's board chair, Kelsey Warren. The 169 00:10:47,400 --> 00:10:51,480 Speaker 1: newspaper's publisher, Metric Media, didn't respond to our request for comment. 170 00:10:52,720 --> 00:10:56,480 Speaker 1: When Greenpeace's lawyer asks about the weird newspapers, one guy 171 00:10:56,520 --> 00:10:59,720 Speaker 1: pulls out a copy he brought with him. I thought 172 00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:01,280 Speaker 1: it was it's kind of weird that I got that. 173 00:11:01,520 --> 00:11:05,440 Speaker 1: He says, it brought back memories. I agree with it 174 00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:10,280 Speaker 1: that what happened down there wasn't good. As jury selection continues, 175 00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:13,160 Speaker 1: another potential jur tells the lawyers that she knows that 176 00:11:13,280 --> 00:11:17,400 Speaker 1: Energy Transfer donated money three million dollars actually to build 177 00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:24,200 Speaker 1: this shiny new library a few blocks from the courtroom. 178 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:27,840 Speaker 1: From what I could tell, energy Transfers propaganda efforts haven't 179 00:11:27,840 --> 00:11:30,720 Speaker 1: slowed down much since the protests, and here in the 180 00:11:30,760 --> 00:11:35,559 Speaker 1: courtroom they're paying off. Before today, I would have thought 181 00:11:35,679 --> 00:11:38,480 Speaker 1: naked bias would be enough to make you ineligible for 182 00:11:38,520 --> 00:11:41,920 Speaker 1: a jury, but Greenpeace's lawyers are having a hell of 183 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:45,760 Speaker 1: a time getting the judge to disqualify people. It turns 184 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:47,920 Speaker 1: out a bunch of people in the jury pool have 185 00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:52,320 Speaker 1: financial ties to the fossil fuel industry. There's a guy 186 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:55,680 Speaker 1: who works maintenance at the local refinery. A woman whose 187 00:11:55,720 --> 00:12:00,440 Speaker 1: family collects royalties from oil extracted on their landon works 188 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:05,960 Speaker 1: at Dakota Gasification. Another works for Cool Creek Station. Everett 189 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:08,960 Speaker 1: Jack asks the potential jurors to raise their hands if 190 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:12,200 Speaker 1: this isn't the right case for them. Five people's hands 191 00:12:12,200 --> 00:12:16,320 Speaker 1: go up. One hand raiser explains, I work in the 192 00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:21,240 Speaker 1: petroleum industry. Juror fourteen says he would be uncomfortable ruling 193 00:12:21,280 --> 00:12:24,080 Speaker 1: against his industry, and he would be less likely to 194 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:28,679 Speaker 1: believe green pieces witnesses than energy transfers. He's even got 195 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:31,440 Speaker 1: a second layer of bias. He has a family member 196 00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:36,959 Speaker 1: in law enforcement who policed the protests. Energy Transfer's attorney, 197 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:39,640 Speaker 1: Trey Cox, hits back with the question of his own, 198 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:43,000 Speaker 1: one that he will repeat throughout the day. If the 199 00:12:43,080 --> 00:12:46,360 Speaker 1: judge instructs you that the law requires you to only 200 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:49,800 Speaker 1: consider the evidence in this courtroom and to treat all 201 00:12:49,840 --> 00:12:55,200 Speaker 1: the parties fairly, are you able to follow the judge's instruction. Yes, 202 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:59,960 Speaker 1: the man replies, it's funny that Trey asks that question. 203 00:13:00,559 --> 00:13:02,400 Speaker 1: He actually wrote a book on how to pick a 204 00:13:02,400 --> 00:13:06,800 Speaker 1: sympathetic jury. It's called Mastering Las Deer. That's a lawyer 205 00:13:06,840 --> 00:13:10,120 Speaker 1: word for jury selection. Trey and as co authors note 206 00:13:10,160 --> 00:13:13,600 Speaker 1: that people are often unaware of their biases. His book 207 00:13:13,640 --> 00:13:16,720 Speaker 1: says this may lead the juror to being dishonest with 208 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:20,280 Speaker 1: herself as well as the court. A notable and common 209 00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:23,400 Speaker 1: example occurs when a potential juror says they can be 210 00:13:23,679 --> 00:13:28,440 Speaker 1: fair and impartial to both sides after revealing a predisposed 211 00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:33,959 Speaker 1: belief or opinion that renders them incapable of impartiality. Trey's 212 00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:37,360 Speaker 1: own book says questions like the one he's asking today 213 00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:43,280 Speaker 1: hide biases judge. Gian rules that Juror fourteen will remain 214 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:49,680 Speaker 1: in the jury pool. Versions of this happen over and over. 215 00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:52,920 Speaker 1: A woman whose father works in oil and gas says 216 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:55,000 Speaker 1: she got lost driving once around the time of the 217 00:13:55,040 --> 00:13:58,400 Speaker 1: protests and found herself in an area where pipeline opponents 218 00:13:58,400 --> 00:14:03,199 Speaker 1: were gathered, banging their hands on her car. Gian rules 219 00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:06,880 Speaker 1: that she remains in the pool. Another man says he 220 00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:09,600 Speaker 1: heard negative stories about the Standing Rock movement from a 221 00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:12,000 Speaker 1: friend who serves in the National Guard and was called 222 00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:15,559 Speaker 1: to respond to the protests. When Green pieces ever at, 223 00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:18,040 Speaker 1: Jack asks if he'd be able to disregard what his 224 00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:21,680 Speaker 1: friend told him. He replies, how can I erase or 225 00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:26,040 Speaker 1: ignore what was said? He adds, wouldn't that be impossible? 226 00:14:27,440 --> 00:14:32,760 Speaker 1: Gian rules that he stays in the pool. Midway through 227 00:14:32,840 --> 00:14:35,680 Speaker 1: day two of this, the moment arrives for the lawyers 228 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:41,200 Speaker 1: to make their selections. They silently pass papers back and forth. 229 00:14:42,120 --> 00:14:46,400 Speaker 1: Those of us in the gallery observe anxiously, and the 230 00:14:46,480 --> 00:14:50,160 Speaker 1: jurors are announced that guy who said his work in 231 00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:53,840 Speaker 1: the fossil fuel industry means Green Piace would have a disadvantage. 232 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:58,480 Speaker 1: He's on the jury. Another juror works at a gasification company. 233 00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:04,080 Speaker 1: A third oversees two power facilities. My job depends on 234 00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:08,720 Speaker 1: fossil fuels, he'd said during jury selection. The woman whose 235 00:15:08,720 --> 00:15:12,080 Speaker 1: family receives royalties for oil on their land, she's on 236 00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:15,520 Speaker 1: it too, And three others have had husbands with ties 237 00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:19,240 Speaker 1: to the oil and gas industry. One woman's husband also 238 00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:22,000 Speaker 1: worked for a security company hired by the pipeline, as 239 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:24,160 Speaker 1: well as for the contractor that drilled under the river 240 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:27,520 Speaker 1: for energy transfer. She said she didn't think he worked 241 00:15:27,560 --> 00:15:32,440 Speaker 1: at those places during pipeline construction, but still, by my count, 242 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:35,360 Speaker 1: a total of seven out of eleven jurors and alternates 243 00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:39,000 Speaker 1: have economic ties to the fossil fuel industry, and no 244 00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:42,720 Speaker 1: one on the jury has identified themselves as indigenous. This 245 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:47,400 Speaker 1: was the best green Peace could do. The organization's lawyer, 246 00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:51,080 Speaker 1: Everett Jack, makes one last motion to relocate the trial. 247 00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:57,320 Speaker 1: Judge Gian denies it. This doesn't seem fair, But maybe 248 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:00,440 Speaker 1: I shouldn't be surprised, because there's something else I noticed 249 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:03,640 Speaker 1: in those tiger Swan private security documents I mentioned earlier. 250 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:10,400 Speaker 1: In addition to spreading propaganda about paid protesters, Tigerswan was 251 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:13,640 Speaker 1: also helping energy transfer look into the money behind the 252 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:17,880 Speaker 1: Standing Rock movement. They put together spreadsheets listing dozens of 253 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:22,040 Speaker 1: crowdfunding pages and how much each raised. They were identifying 254 00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:25,320 Speaker 1: which cars showed up at certain protests, and they were 255 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:29,240 Speaker 1: using an infiltrator to figure out what group's protesters belonged to. 256 00:16:29,920 --> 00:16:33,080 Speaker 1: They didn't seem to mention Greenpeace, although there are several 257 00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:36,880 Speaker 1: pages missing. Their emails showed that they were clear about 258 00:16:36,880 --> 00:16:40,840 Speaker 1: what all of this was for. As early as twenty seventeen, 259 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:46,560 Speaker 1: Tigerswan was specifically helping energy transfer lawyers develop a racketeering 260 00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:50,480 Speaker 1: case a Rico. It was a different law firm that 261 00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:54,280 Speaker 1: actually filed Energy Transfers first RICO suit. Pips and Dunn 262 00:16:54,320 --> 00:16:57,320 Speaker 1: took over the case in twenty twenty three, but it 263 00:16:57,360 --> 00:16:59,920 Speaker 1: turns out they first got involved almost a decade ago. 264 00:17:04,880 --> 00:17:07,800 Speaker 1: Before the court clears for the day, I rush outside 265 00:17:07,840 --> 00:17:09,640 Speaker 1: to try to get people to talk to me about 266 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:14,000 Speaker 1: what's happening. I wait at the courtroom doorway. Who My 267 00:17:14,119 --> 00:17:18,520 Speaker 1: fingers are very cold? Tree Cox and Energy Transfers other 268 00:17:18,600 --> 00:17:21,800 Speaker 1: lawyers exit. I shoot my shot, mister Cox, Can I 269 00:17:21,840 --> 00:17:25,119 Speaker 1: ask you a quick question? Okay, they don't want to 270 00:17:25,160 --> 00:17:28,560 Speaker 1: talk to me. Hey, are you guys able to share 271 00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:29,359 Speaker 1: a quick comment. 272 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:31,720 Speaker 4: Nope, sorry, okay, neither. 273 00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:33,960 Speaker 1: Do people from Greenpeace, at least not with the trial 274 00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:36,480 Speaker 1: just starting, I'm going to have my work cut out 275 00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:42,080 Speaker 1: for me. I finally find someone who is down to talk. 276 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:46,520 Speaker 1: Scott Badendock. He's a lawyer with the Environmental Law Institute 277 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:48,720 Speaker 1: and he's part of a group called the Energy Transfer 278 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:52,800 Speaker 1: Versus Greenpeace Trial Monitoring Committee. There are a group of 279 00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:56,119 Speaker 1: lawyers that came together specifically to watch this trial. 280 00:17:56,800 --> 00:18:01,520 Speaker 5: Trial monitors don't monitor trials because they want to. They 281 00:18:01,600 --> 00:18:05,400 Speaker 5: monitor trials because they feel they need to. And Bismarck 282 00:18:05,600 --> 00:18:10,320 Speaker 5: in end of February is definitely not my first choice. 283 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:13,280 Speaker 1: Scott and the other trial monitors called us a slap 284 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:20,240 Speaker 1: suit slap spelled slapp meaning strategic lawsuit against public participation. 285 00:18:21,080 --> 00:18:23,720 Speaker 1: The point of a slapsuit is not necessarily to win, 286 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:27,480 Speaker 1: but to drain opponents of resources and discourage them from 287 00:18:27,520 --> 00:18:31,879 Speaker 1: speaking out. Slaps are meant to set an example. What's 288 00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:33,800 Speaker 1: in your notes? What really stood out to you? 289 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:37,880 Speaker 5: It seemed like virtually every single juror was directly or 290 00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:41,000 Speaker 5: one step removed from the oil and gas industry. Then 291 00:18:41,040 --> 00:18:43,000 Speaker 5: when you combine that with the fact that they have 292 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:47,680 Speaker 5: negative opinions about what happened there. Those two together sort 293 00:18:47,720 --> 00:18:49,520 Speaker 5: of combined to be a real problem. 294 00:18:50,119 --> 00:18:52,640 Speaker 1: Some of these trial monitors have run into Gibson Done 295 00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:56,600 Speaker 1: and Crutcher before. Gibson Dunn represented Chevron in a notorious 296 00:18:56,680 --> 00:19:01,080 Speaker 1: reco case against an environmental lawyer named Stephen Don. It 297 00:19:01,160 --> 00:19:04,680 Speaker 1: turns out Stephen is also in North Dakota. He's one 298 00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:11,199 Speaker 1: of the people who organize the trial monitoring committee. Steven 299 00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:14,760 Speaker 1: is tough to catch outside the courtroom. He's constantly belining 300 00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:16,600 Speaker 1: it to his car to look at his phone and 301 00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:20,400 Speaker 1: post updates on social media about what's happening inside the courtroom. 302 00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:23,040 Speaker 1: I make arrangements to meet him for an interview at 303 00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:26,480 Speaker 1: his hotel. For Stephen, this case is personal. 304 00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:29,240 Speaker 6: I really wanted to come and look those Gibson Done 305 00:19:29,280 --> 00:19:31,480 Speaker 6: lawyers in the eye and let them know of sitting 306 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:34,440 Speaker 6: right there on the front row watching them, and I'm 307 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:37,720 Speaker 6: posting about it, We're putting out statements about it, and 308 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:40,040 Speaker 6: we're going to do a report about it. 309 00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:43,880 Speaker 1: To understand the trial here in North Dakota, you have 310 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:48,320 Speaker 1: to understand energy transfers law firm Gibson, Dune and Crutcher. 311 00:19:49,040 --> 00:19:52,240 Speaker 1: They have a history of helping big corporations avoid accountability 312 00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:56,439 Speaker 1: for harming the environment or undermining indigenous people's rights. At 313 00:19:56,480 --> 00:19:58,920 Speaker 1: the end of Steven's clash with Gibson, Done and Crutcher, 314 00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:02,600 Speaker 1: he lost his law license and even his freedom. The 315 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:08,480 Speaker 1: case harmed Stephen's clients too, indigenous Ecuadorians fighting oil contamination 316 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:12,040 Speaker 1: in the Amazon. To really get to the bottom of it, 317 00:20:12,119 --> 00:20:13,560 Speaker 1: we have to go back to a case from the 318 00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:16,920 Speaker 1: early two thousands and a legal strategy that Gibson Dunn 319 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:21,720 Speaker 1: developed back then. In two thousand and seven, banana workers 320 00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:25,520 Speaker 1: in Nicaragua won a multimillion dollar lawsuit in the US 321 00:20:25,680 --> 00:20:28,600 Speaker 1: against the fruit company Dole, for poisoning them with a 322 00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:34,199 Speaker 1: pesticide called DCBP. Dole hit back. They hired Gibson, Dun 323 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:38,440 Speaker 1: and Krutcher to launch a full fledged attack against everyone involved. 324 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:42,560 Speaker 1: Dole's general counsel at the time gave their strategy cute 325 00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:48,320 Speaker 1: name The Kill step Dole and the lawyers alleged a 326 00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:52,840 Speaker 1: vast conspiracy where the worker's attorney recruited fake banana workers 327 00:20:52,880 --> 00:20:55,600 Speaker 1: to use to go after the fruit company. There were 328 00:20:55,680 --> 00:20:58,080 Speaker 1: all kinds of holes in this story, but to the 329 00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:01,520 Speaker 1: American judge, it didn't really matter. The money that had 330 00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:05,240 Speaker 1: been awarded to the workers was taken back, and Dolan 331 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:09,040 Speaker 1: Gibson Dunn didn't just go after the lawyers and the plaintiffs. 332 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:12,359 Speaker 1: They went after the story that was being told. They 333 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:15,879 Speaker 1: sued filmmaker Frederick Curtin, who made a documentary about the 334 00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:17,879 Speaker 1: banana workers called Bananas. 335 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:22,359 Speaker 7: They create an angle and then everybody has to follow. 336 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:26,040 Speaker 7: If he goes against the angle they created, you are 337 00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:27,320 Speaker 7: the radical, you know. 338 00:21:28,359 --> 00:21:31,960 Speaker 1: Eventually, Frederick forcetle to drop the lawsuit, and he even 339 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:35,320 Speaker 1: won a countersuit. A court in California said that this 340 00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:39,760 Speaker 1: was a slap suit, that strategic lawsuit against public participation thing. 341 00:21:40,359 --> 00:21:44,040 Speaker 1: But Dolan Gibson Dunn had damaged Frederick's ability to tell 342 00:21:44,080 --> 00:21:47,880 Speaker 1: the banana workers story. He couldn't get his film distributed 343 00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:48,480 Speaker 1: in the US. 344 00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:52,840 Speaker 7: We had sold the US TV rights to ITVS, which 345 00:21:52,960 --> 00:21:56,359 Speaker 7: was a part of PBS, and they didn't dare to 346 00:21:56,400 --> 00:21:57,120 Speaker 7: broadcast it. 347 00:21:57,760 --> 00:22:00,919 Speaker 1: A few years later, Chevron hired Gibson Dunn Crutcher to 348 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:05,600 Speaker 1: go after another lawyer, Stephen Donziger. Drill did a whole 349 00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:08,320 Speaker 1: season on Stephen's case, and I re listened to it. 350 00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:12,440 Speaker 1: The heart of the story was another horrible case of contamination, 351 00:22:13,040 --> 00:22:16,679 Speaker 1: this time in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The homeland of indigenous 352 00:22:16,680 --> 00:22:20,720 Speaker 1: Ecuadorians was destroyed, and Stephen helped them win a big 353 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:24,840 Speaker 1: case against the oil giant Chevron Gears from Drilled Season five, 354 00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:28,480 Speaker 1: hosted by My Boss investigative reporter and editor Amy. 355 00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:32,240 Speaker 4: Westervelt, Chevron was ordered to pay more than nine billion 356 00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:35,520 Speaker 4: dollars to clean up waste pits of oil and refining 357 00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:39,760 Speaker 4: fluids left in the Ecuadorian Amazon by Texaco, the company 358 00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:43,800 Speaker 4: Chevron acquired in two thousand. But the case didn't end there. 359 00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:46,760 Speaker 4: Back in the US, Chevron took Donziger and the other 360 00:22:46,840 --> 00:22:50,720 Speaker 4: lawyers to civil court, filing a racketeering case against them, 361 00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:54,360 Speaker 4: otherwise known as a Rico case, and accusing them of fraud. 362 00:22:55,080 --> 00:22:59,160 Speaker 1: It was the kill step all over again. Stephen lost 363 00:22:59,160 --> 00:23:02,440 Speaker 1: the Rico case, and over the next few years Chevron 364 00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:05,959 Speaker 1: and Gibson Dunn kept going after him. He ended up 365 00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:08,320 Speaker 1: on house arrest for two years and in jail for 366 00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:11,040 Speaker 1: forty five days for a contempt of court charge. 367 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:14,240 Speaker 6: The impact on me was profound, on my life, life 368 00:23:14,240 --> 00:23:17,240 Speaker 6: of my family. Chevron is still after me. I cannot 369 00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:20,520 Speaker 6: travel out of the country. They have taken most of 370 00:23:20,560 --> 00:23:25,280 Speaker 6: my money I live off basically philanthropy. People giving money 371 00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:28,480 Speaker 6: to my legal defense fund and helps pay my household expenses. 372 00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:30,560 Speaker 6: I mean, it's a crazy way to live. I'm sixty 373 00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:34,000 Speaker 6: three years old. I have nothing other than half of 374 00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:35,919 Speaker 6: my house, which Chevron has a lean on. 375 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:41,200 Speaker 1: Perhaps even more troubling is that the indigenous Ecuadorians couldn't 376 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:44,520 Speaker 1: collect the settlement awarded to them. Chevron had pulled its 377 00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:47,480 Speaker 1: assets out of Ecuador, and now a US judge had 378 00:23:47,480 --> 00:23:51,000 Speaker 1: said they couldn't collect in the US either. Just like 379 00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:54,400 Speaker 1: with the banana workers in Nicaragua, the victims of contamination 380 00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:58,520 Speaker 1: were left with no justice in this case too. They 381 00:23:58,520 --> 00:24:01,680 Speaker 1: went after a journalist, a guy named Joe Berlinger, who 382 00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:05,840 Speaker 1: directed a film about the contamination called Crude. Chevron and 383 00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:09,119 Speaker 1: Gibson Dunn forced him to hand over his unused footage 384 00:24:09,160 --> 00:24:11,440 Speaker 1: so they could use it as evidence against Stephen and 385 00:24:11,480 --> 00:24:15,280 Speaker 1: the others. Gibson Dun was effective at using the courtroom 386 00:24:15,400 --> 00:24:19,760 Speaker 1: to weaponize Stephen Donziger's missteps, and the legal drama also 387 00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:24,760 Speaker 1: distracted from the oil oozing through the Amazon rainforest. At 388 00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:27,120 Speaker 1: the heart of the kill step strategy is an attempt 389 00:24:27,119 --> 00:24:32,000 Speaker 1: to discredit the client's legal adversaries. But the kill step 390 00:24:32,119 --> 00:24:36,080 Speaker 1: is more than that. The bananas filmmaker Frederick Gerton calls 391 00:24:36,119 --> 00:24:41,480 Speaker 1: it the double kill, extreme legal aggression combined with strategic communication. 392 00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:44,920 Speaker 7: So they tried to take down my character. They tried 393 00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:48,360 Speaker 7: to take down the lawyer who represented the banana workers. 394 00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:51,520 Speaker 7: You can see that with the crew. They tried to 395 00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:54,479 Speaker 7: go after Joe Berlinger, and then they went after his lawyer, 396 00:24:54,560 --> 00:24:59,080 Speaker 7: and they with the lawyer of Steve Donziger. They were 397 00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:03,960 Speaker 7: really very successful taking down his figure, his public figure. 398 00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:07,800 Speaker 7: And I think that's what you are up against. That's 399 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:10,960 Speaker 7: the that's the double kill in some ways, and it's 400 00:25:11,119 --> 00:25:15,160 Speaker 7: it's not a new thing, you know, because every whistle 401 00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:18,560 Speaker 7: blower in history has had it coming after. If you're 402 00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:23,200 Speaker 7: a factory worker and you you go and say, hey, 403 00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:26,960 Speaker 7: we are actually letting out poison in the chemicals in 404 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:31,000 Speaker 7: the river, there will be a story first of all saying, oh, 405 00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:34,800 Speaker 7: you are risking the work of all your colleagues, and 406 00:25:34,840 --> 00:25:37,760 Speaker 7: then there will be a story he's probably beating his wife, 407 00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:41,200 Speaker 7: or he might be an alcoholic. You know, I heard 408 00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:44,480 Speaker 7: that he's hard on drugs. You know, you do everything 409 00:25:44,560 --> 00:25:49,240 Speaker 7: to make the whistle blower look like he's not somebody 410 00:25:49,280 --> 00:25:53,800 Speaker 7: you could trust. That's that's a very old technique, but 411 00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:58,320 Speaker 7: they used it. They infuse that technique with millions of dollars. 412 00:26:03,720 --> 00:26:06,640 Speaker 1: There's another threat that connects several of Gibson Dunn's most 413 00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:11,080 Speaker 1: well known cases, attacks on the rights of Indigenous nations. 414 00:26:12,080 --> 00:26:15,520 Speaker 1: Natalie Segovia is director of the Water Protector's Legal Collective, 415 00:26:15,680 --> 00:26:19,480 Speaker 1: which is represented pipeline opponents. She's Quetchua and is also 416 00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:21,760 Speaker 1: part of the monitoring group and is in town for 417 00:26:21,840 --> 00:26:22,280 Speaker 1: the trial. 418 00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:28,440 Speaker 2: Gibson Dunn has been involved in struggles against Indigenous peoples 419 00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:30,800 Speaker 2: and against indigenous justice for a long time. 420 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:34,560 Speaker 1: She says the Stephen Donziger and Chevron case is one example, 421 00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:36,800 Speaker 1: but there's another that's even bigger. 422 00:26:37,280 --> 00:26:40,120 Speaker 2: They took up the case against the Indian Child Welfare 423 00:26:40,119 --> 00:26:42,440 Speaker 2: Act all the way up to the Supreme Court. 424 00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:47,119 Speaker 1: The Indian Child Welfare Act or IQUA, passed unanimously in 425 00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:50,840 Speaker 1: the nineteen seventies in response to the Indian Adoption Project 426 00:26:51,040 --> 00:26:54,600 Speaker 1: and the forced separation of Indigenous children from their families. 427 00:26:55,520 --> 00:26:58,160 Speaker 1: The law assures that if Indigenous kids are removed from 428 00:26:58,160 --> 00:27:01,320 Speaker 1: their parents or lose their parents, they have an opportunity 429 00:27:01,359 --> 00:27:04,840 Speaker 1: to be placed with indigenous family members and communities before 430 00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:10,760 Speaker 1: being adopted out. Equo went unchallenged for more than thirty years. Then, 431 00:27:10,840 --> 00:27:14,679 Speaker 1: beginning in twenty thirteen, a series of constitutional challenges were 432 00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:18,080 Speaker 1: filed against it by corporate law firms supported by a 433 00:27:18,119 --> 00:27:23,120 Speaker 1: whole ecosystem of right wing think tanks. In twenty fifteen, Gibson, 434 00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:26,240 Speaker 1: dun and Krutcher joined some of these cases, and by 435 00:27:26,280 --> 00:27:29,359 Speaker 1: twenty seventeen it became the main law firm taking on 436 00:27:29,440 --> 00:27:31,440 Speaker 1: the cases pro bono. 437 00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:34,399 Speaker 2: For a law firm to willingly step in and try 438 00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:38,320 Speaker 2: to overturn legislation that was meant to be restorative and 439 00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:42,480 Speaker 2: reparative in a form of reparative justice just kind of 440 00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:44,760 Speaker 2: tells you the kind of law firm that they are. 441 00:27:45,440 --> 00:27:47,439 Speaker 1: One of those cases went all the way up to 442 00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:50,960 Speaker 1: the Supreme Court in twenty twenty three, and Trey Cox, 443 00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:53,919 Speaker 1: the lawyer in the courtroom today, worked on it too. 444 00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:56,760 Speaker 1: His law firm at the time partnered with Gibson Done 445 00:27:56,800 --> 00:28:00,560 Speaker 1: on the case, and he joined Gibson Done soon after Gibson, 446 00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:04,040 Speaker 1: Dune and Crutcher lost the Supreme Court case attacking EQUA, 447 00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:08,119 Speaker 1: but the firm didn't move on. They already have another 448 00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:13,879 Speaker 1: constitutional challenge lined up. Tribal leaders across the US believe 449 00:28:13,920 --> 00:28:16,639 Speaker 1: that these cases are not about the welfare of Native 450 00:28:16,720 --> 00:28:21,520 Speaker 1: kids or adoptive families. The true target is Indigenous land rights. 451 00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:24,400 Speaker 1: And bear with me here because this one is even 452 00:28:24,440 --> 00:28:28,159 Speaker 1: more tricky. In the EQUA case, Gibson Dunn argued that 453 00:28:28,240 --> 00:28:33,639 Speaker 1: EQUA creates an unconstitutional race based preference. The thing is, 454 00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:37,520 Speaker 1: being Indigenous is not a racial identity. It's a political 455 00:28:37,520 --> 00:28:40,280 Speaker 1: one that means you belong to a nation that has 456 00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:43,719 Speaker 1: a treaty with the United States that affords you certain rights. 457 00:28:44,320 --> 00:28:47,920 Speaker 1: Rewriting Indigenous identity is racial would make it a lot 458 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:51,960 Speaker 1: easier to attack Indigenous nations rights to decide what happens 459 00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:58,040 Speaker 1: on their land. Natalie Segovia from Water Protectors Legal Collective 460 00:28:58,280 --> 00:29:01,840 Speaker 1: says that energy transfers lawsuit against green Peace is also 461 00:29:01,920 --> 00:29:06,360 Speaker 1: about undermining Indigenous rights for corporate gain, because she says, 462 00:29:06,400 --> 00:29:09,760 Speaker 1: the true targets of this legal attack include members of 463 00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:11,400 Speaker 1: the Standing Rock Zoo Tribe. 464 00:29:11,880 --> 00:29:14,680 Speaker 8: This lawsuit was a proxy war against the Standing Rock 465 00:29:14,720 --> 00:29:17,680 Speaker 8: Szoo Tribe and against indigenous sovereignty. 466 00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:20,160 Speaker 1: In the months and years before we got to trial, 467 00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:23,560 Speaker 1: the impacts of this case went way beyond green Peace. 468 00:29:24,320 --> 00:29:26,440 Speaker 1: I asked her about Cody Hall and the fact that 469 00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:29,520 Speaker 1: he was still named an energy transfer's lawsuit up until 470 00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:30,400 Speaker 1: the trial began. 471 00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:34,440 Speaker 8: It's sort of like a scarecrow tactic, right, If you 472 00:29:34,520 --> 00:29:39,720 Speaker 8: put up a scarecrow, doesn't actually do anything to physically 473 00:29:39,760 --> 00:29:44,280 Speaker 8: protect your crops, but it might scare others that are 474 00:29:44,320 --> 00:29:52,560 Speaker 8: similarly situated from coming anywhere near this specific thing. You know, 475 00:29:52,840 --> 00:29:55,760 Speaker 8: they weren't just It wasn't just the named parties. There 476 00:29:55,760 --> 00:29:57,960 Speaker 8: were third parties that received subpoenats. 477 00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:02,040 Speaker 1: In the case, the organized that Natalie leads, which has 478 00:30:02,040 --> 00:30:05,720 Speaker 1: provided legal support to pipeline opponents, was one of them. 479 00:30:06,120 --> 00:30:09,440 Speaker 8: Water Protectively Collective received a subpoena in twenty twenty one. 480 00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:13,040 Speaker 8: We fought it for three years, and we were just 481 00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:17,080 Speaker 8: the first of many organizations that were subpoenaed throughout for 482 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:20,520 Speaker 8: their work in proximity to Standing Rock, in part to 483 00:30:20,600 --> 00:30:23,920 Speaker 8: learn information is part of the discovery process, but also 484 00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:29,959 Speaker 8: in every slab suit there is this measure of intimidation, 485 00:30:30,400 --> 00:30:34,040 Speaker 8: chilling and a chilling effect on broader society and then 486 00:30:34,480 --> 00:30:39,280 Speaker 8: a broader subset in particular environmental and indigenous organizations. 487 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:42,280 Speaker 1: As has been the case, was so many of Gibson 488 00:30:42,320 --> 00:30:46,480 Speaker 1: Dun's lawsuits. Rewriting the narrative, changing the story being told 489 00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:49,200 Speaker 1: about Standing Rock has been critical to the success of 490 00:30:49,240 --> 00:30:52,680 Speaker 1: this case, and yet again in the Energy Transfer versus 491 00:30:52,680 --> 00:30:57,200 Speaker 1: Greenpeace case, journalists have been targeted. The company sought to 492 00:30:57,280 --> 00:31:00,640 Speaker 1: force reporters with the media outlet Unicorn Riot to hand 493 00:31:00,720 --> 00:31:04,280 Speaker 1: over their footage to pick through for evidence. The pipeline 494 00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:06,840 Speaker 1: company lawyers took it all the way up to Minnesota 495 00:31:06,920 --> 00:31:10,440 Speaker 1: Supreme Court, where the state's shield law for journalists stopped them. 496 00:31:10,840 --> 00:31:14,800 Speaker 1: Gibson Dunn's pattern of going after journalists is important because 497 00:31:14,800 --> 00:31:17,120 Speaker 1: the firm has also used the media to build a 498 00:31:17,160 --> 00:31:21,440 Speaker 1: reputation for defending the First Amendment. Gibson Dunn has offered 499 00:31:21,440 --> 00:31:25,280 Speaker 1: its services pro bono or joined the boards of CNN, 500 00:31:26,080 --> 00:31:30,520 Speaker 1: Pro Publica, Reveal, and the International Women's Media Foundation. That 501 00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:33,320 Speaker 1: work is often carried out by a Gibson Dunn partner 502 00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:37,840 Speaker 1: named Ted Boutros. He's a First Amendment expert who also 503 00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:41,960 Speaker 1: happens to be Chevron's attorney in several climate cases, and 504 00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:45,000 Speaker 1: he worked on the Dole case where the firm developed 505 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:48,920 Speaker 1: the kill step. Ted Buttrose would not talk to me 506 00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:55,480 Speaker 1: for this story. Back at the hotel. Stephen and the 507 00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:57,760 Speaker 1: other trial monitors are waiting for me to finish this 508 00:31:57,840 --> 00:32:00,920 Speaker 1: interview so they can go eat dinner. Well, I think 509 00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:02,440 Speaker 1: that's all I've got. Is there anything you want to 510 00:32:02,440 --> 00:32:07,480 Speaker 1: add that we didn't talk about, though, Let's go eat. 511 00:32:07,920 --> 00:32:10,760 Speaker 1: I reached out to Energy Transfer and Gibson Dune about 512 00:32:10,760 --> 00:32:14,120 Speaker 1: everything I talked about with the trial monitors. Gibson Done 513 00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:18,960 Speaker 1: declined to comment. Energy Transfer sent me this statement. Our 514 00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:22,840 Speaker 1: lawsuit is about recovering damages for the harm Greenpeace caused 515 00:32:22,840 --> 00:32:27,040 Speaker 1: our company. It is not about free speech. They're organizing, 516 00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:31,200 Speaker 1: funding and encouraging the unlawful destruction of property, and the 517 00:32:31,280 --> 00:32:36,000 Speaker 1: dissemination of misinformation goes well beyond the exercise of free speech. 518 00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:39,560 Speaker 1: We look forward to proving our case and we trust 519 00:32:39,640 --> 00:32:43,080 Speaker 1: the North Dakota legal system to do that. In the 520 00:32:43,120 --> 00:32:46,240 Speaker 1: lobby of Stephen's hotel, a commercial blairs on a big 521 00:32:46,280 --> 00:32:48,160 Speaker 1: TV surrounded by couches. 522 00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:52,720 Speaker 9: Tomorrow, millions of Americans will go to work and school, 523 00:32:53,120 --> 00:32:56,400 Speaker 9: some will go on vacation, and others will simply come home. 524 00:32:56,880 --> 00:33:01,280 Speaker 9: But America will move tomorrow because North Dakota works Today. 525 00:33:01,760 --> 00:33:05,040 Speaker 9: North Dakota produces more than one point one million barrels 526 00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:07,680 Speaker 9: of crude oil every day, with almost half of that 527 00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:13,240 Speaker 9: safely going through the Dakota Access pipeline. 528 00:33:15,560 --> 00:33:18,400 Speaker 1: With jury selection behind us, the real show is about 529 00:33:18,400 --> 00:33:21,040 Speaker 1: to begin, and I'm eager to hear how each side 530 00:33:21,080 --> 00:33:24,880 Speaker 1: will present their cases. Greenpeace has made a last ditch 531 00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:28,200 Speaker 1: attempt to relocate the trial the appeal to the North 532 00:33:28,280 --> 00:33:31,480 Speaker 1: Dakota Supreme Court, but I'm not so surprised when I 533 00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:34,720 Speaker 1: learned that the appeal is denied. Our request for better 534 00:33:34,800 --> 00:33:36,200 Speaker 1: media access is denied. 535 00:33:36,240 --> 00:33:36,440 Speaker 7: Too. 536 00:33:38,080 --> 00:33:41,160 Speaker 1: When I talked to trial monitor Natalie Segovia, she points 537 00:33:41,200 --> 00:33:44,920 Speaker 1: out something funny. One of the state Supreme Court judges 538 00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:48,520 Speaker 1: who weighed in on the trial relocation decision and the 539 00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:52,760 Speaker 1: media access decision previously recused himself from being judge in 540 00:33:52,800 --> 00:33:56,360 Speaker 1: this trial. He'd said before he had a conflict of interest, 541 00:33:56,960 --> 00:33:59,600 Speaker 1: but that didn't stop him from weighing in this time. 542 00:34:00,560 --> 00:34:03,080 Speaker 1: Everywhere I turn with this case, I run into another 543 00:34:03,120 --> 00:34:06,400 Speaker 1: ethical hiccup. When I reach out to the court clerk 544 00:34:06,480 --> 00:34:10,680 Speaker 1: for clarification about the recusal, the court refiles the decision, 545 00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:14,160 Speaker 1: this time without that judge. As I get ready to 546 00:34:14,239 --> 00:34:17,719 Speaker 1: listen to opening statements tomorrow, I want to believe these 547 00:34:17,800 --> 00:34:21,120 Speaker 1: jurors sincere pledges that they will listen to the evidence 548 00:34:21,239 --> 00:34:25,160 Speaker 1: and issue a fair judgment. But as an investigative journalist, 549 00:34:25,400 --> 00:34:28,680 Speaker 1: I'm also supposed to follow the evidence. I know the 550 00:34:28,680 --> 00:34:32,080 Speaker 1: makeup of the jury. I've read lawyer Trey Cox's own books. 551 00:34:32,760 --> 00:34:36,920 Speaker 1: This case is stacked against Greenpeace. I want to believe 552 00:34:37,040 --> 00:34:40,239 Speaker 1: that green Peace will only lose if Energy Transfer proves 553 00:34:40,280 --> 00:34:43,160 Speaker 1: its case. And I haven't really seen yet what kind 554 00:34:43,200 --> 00:34:46,200 Speaker 1: of dirt the pipeline company is dug up. But if 555 00:34:46,280 --> 00:34:50,520 Speaker 1: Energy Transfer didn't find a smoking gun, if Greenpeace loses anyway, 556 00:34:51,160 --> 00:34:53,120 Speaker 1: then I want to see how they pull this thing off. 557 00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:01,840 Speaker 1: Drilled is an original Critical Frequency production. This season was 558 00:35:01,920 --> 00:35:05,880 Speaker 1: reported and written by me Allen Brown. Our senior editor 559 00:35:05,960 --> 00:35:10,040 Speaker 1: is Audrey Quinn. Additional editing by Tristan Attone Et Grist. 560 00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:13,920 Speaker 1: Our producer and sound designer is Ray Payne. Mixing and 561 00:35:13,960 --> 00:35:18,160 Speaker 1: mastering by Martin Saltz, Austwick and Peter Duff. Fact checking 562 00:35:18,239 --> 00:35:22,280 Speaker 1: by Shilpa Jindia. Our first amendment attorney is James Wheaton. 563 00:35:23,040 --> 00:35:27,360 Speaker 1: Our impact producer is Lindsay Crowder. Marketing by Maggie Taylor. 564 00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:31,080 Speaker 1: Original artwork for this season was created by Victor Pascual 565 00:35:31,160 --> 00:35:34,760 Speaker 1: of Digital Navajo. Our theme music is by Dear Lady. 566 00:35:35,480 --> 00:35:38,880 Speaker 1: The show was created and executive produced by Amy Westervelt. 567 00:35:39,480 --> 00:35:42,880 Speaker 1: The Center for Median Democracy supported Document Review for the season. 568 00:35:44,200 --> 00:35:46,839 Speaker 1: For related stories and to support our work, check out 569 00:35:46,880 --> 00:35:49,960 Speaker 1: drilled dot Media To follow my work, check out my 570 00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:54,040 Speaker 1: newsletter Eco files at Allen Brown dot Ghost dot Io. 571 00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:56,200 Speaker 5: No che. 572 00:35:57,400 --> 00:36:08,279 Speaker 1: Chi Chimo chu Won, no jeweler Jee really Want, no 573 00:36:08,760 --> 00:36:14,719 Speaker 1: jeally one, no Joe, no jew Wan