Kansas AG Urges DOJ Probe Into Chinese ‘Climate Lawfare’

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach is demanding that the Department of Justice investigate Energy Foundation China (EFC), a San Francisco-based climate group with deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), for its alleged role in funding legal warfare designed to cripple American energy production.

In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Kobach argued that EFC’s “environmental lawfare” drives up energy costs, weakens U.S. national security, and increases dependence on Chinese-controlled energy technologies like solar panels and electric vehicle batteries.

“It is evident that China’s asymmetric warfare against the United States extends to our nation’s courtrooms and state legislatures,” Kobach stated. “The CCP plainly has a strategy of driving the United States away from domestic energy sources and increasing U.S. dependence on sources that rely on a Chinese supply chain.”

Kobach’s warning follows a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing titled “Enter The Dragon China and the Left’s Lawfare Against American Energy Dominance.” The hearing detailed how Chinese influence infiltrates U.S. courts and policymaking.

According to a report by State Armor, a research group investigating CCP activities, EFC funnels money to U.S. climate activists and nonprofits, funding lawsuits designed to shut down domestic energy production while promoting Chinese-made green technologies.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who chaired the hearing, warned of a three-pronged strategy involving:

• Foreign funding of left-wing environmental groups.

• Mass climate litigation targeting American energy producers.

• Judicial indoctrination via groups like the Climate Judiciary Project, which reportedly trains judges to favor restrictive climate policies.

“This is a full-spectrum assault on American energy independence,” Cruz said. “While China drills and digs, we sue and shut down.”

State Armor CEO Michael Lucci echoed Kobach’s concerns, stating:

Every day, Communist China is waging a war on American energy to make us more reliant on technology that is built and controlled by the CCP. They co-opt nonprofits and left-wing environmental groups to drive the CCP’s agenda through our court systems and universities.”

Kobach’s letter emphasizes that this campaign is part of a broader CCP strategy to dominate global energy supply chains and gain leverage over critical infrastructure. He urged the DOJ to open an immediate investigation into EFC’s operations in the U.S., calling for transparency and accountability.

“The evidence is clear,” Lucci said in support of Kobach’s call. “EFC should be permanently shut down.”

This battle over climate lawfare comes as the Trump administration continues its aggressive push for energy independence, rolling back burdensome regulations and targeting foreign interference. Conservative leaders warn that allowing CCP-backed groups to manipulate U.S. energy policy poses both an economic and national security threat.

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