Chevron Ecuador Case: Steven Donziger In Big Trouble With Judge Kaplan

In seeking a motion to quash Chevron's request to dipose him, Steven Donziger, the ringleader and mastermind of the plot to defraud the American Oil Giant of up to $27 Billion by claiming it left the Ecuadorian Amazon envrionmentally damaged, when it did not, placed himself in big trouble.

The resulting 52-page ruling by heavyweight New York U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan casts a dark light on the legal career of Steven Donziger, and rubber-stamps every assertion this blogger made in this video below on August 14th 2008:



Particularly damning is this statement by the judge:

On behalf of the Lago Agrio plaintiffs, Donziger, directly or indirectly, has lobbiedthe Ecuadorian and United States governments, raised money to support the litigation efforts,organized the plaintiffs’ media campaign, and solicited and interacted with celebrity supporters. Donziger’s statements, conduct, and demeanor in Crude and the outtakes, as well as other evidence,suggest that many of his activities have had little to do with the performance of legal services anda great deal to do with political activity, intimidation of the Ecuadorian courts, attempts to procurecriminal prosecutions for the purpose of extracting a settlement, and presenting a message to theworld media. This becomes even clearer when one considers still other statements and incidentsdepicted in Crude and the outtakes.

It's for those activities that legal observers have said Donziger is in possible criminal trouble. All of this he's done can result in the loss of his ability to practice law.

Stay tuned.