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Earlier this week, a number of news outlets reported that SEC is in the process now of taking a look at how ExxonMobil assesses the value of its proven reserves, a move that the company welcomed as “appropriate.”

SEC’s involvement is being viewed as a way to move the investigation out of the political arena – where New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman had been grandstanding for months in a desperate bid to drum up support for his gubernatorial bid – and into the authority of the proper federal agency. As the #ExxonKnew campaign collapses all around him, the SEC announcement gives Schneiderman the chance to exit quietly, stage left.

Except! It does not appear that the media is willing to cooperate with this plan. Here’s what news outlets and columnists are saying about these latest developments:

• Reuters: “Legal scholars have said Schneiderman’s casting about over the last year suggested he did not have strong case to press in court or use to force the company into a settlement. With the SEC now stepping in, Schneiderman could take credit for creating the impetus for the inquiry without having to win a case.” (emphasis added)

• New York Post: “The Securities and Exchange Commission just handed Eric Schneiderman a face-saving way to drop his fast-imploding probe of Exxon…Schneiderman started with a broader witch-hunt. But he’s already dropped his bid to ‘prove’ Exxon lied about what it knew about global warming. Best to pocket the praise (and donations) he’s won from anti-fossil-fuel fanatics, and let the SEC take over. Heck, he can even claim credit for nudging the agency to act. The commission is clearly the most appropriate regulator of the valuation issue — even though it has zero chance of making any charges stick…The anti-Exxon train is on a fast track to disaster — Scheiderman’s smart move is get off the case.” (emphasis a...
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