Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has shifted her justification for a controversial probe of Exxon Mobil, according to remarks published by the Boston Globe. The change comes as Healey is being forced to appear in federal court over the politically-motivated nature of her investigation.

As the Boston Globe reported this morning, Healey made it very clear during a March 29 press conference with Al Gore that she had already determined Exxon’s guilt before she even began her investigation. As she said,

“Fossil fuel companies that deceived investors and consumers about the dangers of climate change should be, must be, held accountable. We can all see today the troubling disconnect between what Exxon knew, what industry folks knew, and what the company and industry chose to share with investors and with the American public.” (emphasis added)

But now she’s trying to walk back these statements. As she told the Boston Globe this week,

“The goal of this investigation is to get to the bottom of what happened, whether or not it’s true that Exxon knew certain information and made misrepresentations to consumers and investors. It’s as simple as that.” (emphasis added)

This change in rhetoric comes after a Texas federal judge issued a discovery order to determine whether “bias or prejudgment” influenced Healey’s decision to initiate what could be a “bad faith” investigation into ExxonMobil. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman was recently added to that discovery order, which opens the door to an extensive examination of both AGs’ internal documents. Such an examination may show the extent to which they were conspiring with outside groups, and if their motivation to launch these investigations was political.

Like Healey, Schneiderman has repeatedly tried to change his justification for investigating Exxon Mobil.

The discovery order isn’t the only major blow to the campaign lately. A New York judge recently ordered that Schneiderma...