UPDATE 1-US House panel subpoenas ESG corporate activist group
(Adds comment from As You Sow in paragraphs 4-5)
By Makini Brice
WASHINGTON, March 21 (Reuters) - A U.S. House of Representatives panel has subpoenaed the head of an activist group that pressures companies over environmental, social and corporate governance issues to appear for a March 28 deposition, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Thursday.
The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee is conducting a probe into whether ESG efforts violate antitrust laws. It has subpoenaed BlackRock Inc and State Street Corp for documents and communications as part of the same investigation.
The committee said it was issuing the subpoena to compel the deposition of Andrew Behar, the chief executive officer of As You Sow, as part of its probe into antitrust laws.
A spokesman for the group said it had provided documents and testimony since receiving the panel's initial request and that Behar had already agreed to a voluntary interview to be held on March 28.
"Yesterday's subpoena, ordering him to appear on the same day, was duplicative and he looks forward to appearing before the Committee in Washington as previously planned," the group said.
ESG efforts have faced a backlash from conservative U.S. politicians in Washington and in various states, who claim that executives have been distracted from the goal of making money as environmentally and socially conscious shoppers, business partners and investors seek ambitious ESG goals.
The panel said it had sought transcribed interviews with multiple executives with the group, but had only been able to obtain an interview with Danielle Fugere, the group's president and chief counsel.
Fugere in the interview testified that she did not know or did not recall the answer to the questions posed "well over one hundred times - including about matters in which she was personally involved," the letter said.
The committee said it had tried to arrange an interview with Behar but the plans collapsed. The group also said it had provided documents, but the committee said they were insufficient.
"As You Sow's dilatory tactics, which have persisted for more than three months after our initial request for this voluntary interview, have impeded and obstructed the Committee's legislative oversight efforts," the letter said. (Reporting by Makini Brice; Editing by Scott Malone, Daniel Wallis and Mark Porter)
