I wrote previously  that former Portland City Commissioner Steve Novick has been hired by Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum’s Oregon Department of Justice as a Special Assistant Attorney General (SAAG).

Novick’s entire salary is being paid by an out-of-state private source, New York University’s State Energy & Environmental Impact Center, which is backed by Bloomberg Philanthropies. The Center is covering Novick’s legal fellowship with the aim of strengthening state attorney general offices in their crusade against the Trump administration’s environmental policies.

Creation of the Impact Center was spurred by former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who resigned his post in May 2018 amid assault claims by 4 women. t was an unexpected fall from grace for a rising star in Democratic politics who had portrayed himself as a relentless opponent of President Trump.

The guiding force behind Bloomberg Philanthropies is Michael Bloomberg, the founder of the global data and media company, Bloomberg LP, and a former Mayor of New York City. Bloomberg Philanthropies made a grant almost $6 million to the Center in August 2017. Earlier this month, Bloomberg announced that he re-registered as a Democrat, saying the party must “provide the checks and balances our nation needs so badly.” He is known to be toying with the idea of running for president in 2020 as a Democrat.

According to The Hill, an online political news site, Bloomberg has reserved more than $30 million in TV advertising for Democratic candidates in swing districts in the final two weeks before the midterm elections. Bloomberg has pledged to spend $80 million to help Democrats take back the House.

Bloomberg Philanthropies providing external funding to Rosenbloom to push a policy agenda is bad enough. But it’s worse, much worse.

I dug further and found that Rosenblum’s is one of TEN State attorney general offices where 14 NYU Law Fellows are working as a Special Assistant Attorney General (SAAG).

And although 22 State Attorney’s General are Democrats and 27 are Republicans (one is independent), every single one of the Attorney’s General taking in an NYU Law Fellow is a Democrat:

Illinois: Lisa Murray Madigan

Maryland: Brian E. Frosh

Massachusetts: Maura T. Healey

New Mexico: Hector Hugo Balderas Jr.

New York: Barbara Dale Underwood

Oregon: Ellen F. Rosenblum,

Pennsylvania: Josh Shapiro

Washington: Robert Watson Ferguson

Washington, D.C: Karl Racine

Virginia: Mark Herring

The Impact Center claims to be non-partisan, but that’s hardly the case.

“Each of the attorney general offices chosen to participate in the initial phase of the fellowship program has demonstrated a commitment to advancing progressive policies on clean energy, the environment and climate change,” David J. Hayes, executive director of the Impact Center, said on Oct.17, 2017. Hayes was deputy secretary and chief operating officer of the Department of the Interior for Presidents Clinton and Obama.

Should billionaire activists be able to bankroll “special assistant attorneys general” as an almost invisible legal army in state law enforcement offices to pursue ideological agendas?

I don’t think so. Do you?