State Attorneys General: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

state attorneys general and yes that is the correct plural and if you already knew that I'm sorry that high school was such a rough time for you believe me I know being a teenage grammar nerd is something from which it is difficult to recover and look I do realize that they show about state AG's sounds like a tedious prospect just watch the start of this 2006 panel discussion on c-span in front of an electrified crowd our panel today features three distinguished and very very different and bipartisan attorneys general I gotta say that was a bit of a dick move by the c-span camera man there he didn't have to pan across those empty seats but he did it anyway as if to say look even the panel's friends didn't show up and I'll tell you what that panel did wrong actually if you want a live audience to listen to you talk about state AG's simply don't tell them in advance we filmed this show in front of a live audience you think we told them what this shows about of course not they were explicitly told that this was a taping of the Rachael Ray Show and I promise she'll be out any minute now but look it is worth the effort to learn about state AG's because they are very important and yet most of us probably don't know who ours is although if you live in Indiana I am very excited to introduce you to yours please meet Curtis Hill AG by day although by night something very much different I was toying around with it and discovered that I sounded sorta like Elvis we're caught in a trap I can't walk out because I love you too much baby we saw the Attorney General do all the hits I don't know if you've noticed but I don't look much like Elvis to be honest I'd noticed that frankly it's difficult to notice anything besides the most sadistic inseam in the history of tailoring that looks like a marshmallow bisected with fishing wire and that's all it looks like most ladies are actually elected meaning they belong to political parties and they run campaign ads like this striking one from Michigan when you're choosing Michigan's next Attorney General ask yourself this who can you trust most not to show you their penis in a professional setting is that the candidate who doesn't have a penis I'd say so well certainly and arguments although to be honest if you asking me which candidate I trust most not to show me their penis I'd have to go with Dennis he he can't show me his penis why that mean old raccoon still has it that woman is running for attorney general in Michigan it's one of 30 states where voters will be selecting their next AG on November 6th and those elections are going to be unusually competitive some estimate that more than a hundred million dollars will be spent on AG races this year that's up to three times more than ever before so tonight let's look at who AG's are what they do and why they matter and let's start with what they do because typically they serve as a state's chief legal officer and the people's loyal with responsibilities ranging from a criminal law enforcement to consumer advocacy to and everything in between the landmark multi-billion dollar tobacco industry settlement in the 90s the one that killed Joe Camel that was thanks to state AG's this year's blockbuster report on abuses by the Catholic Church in Pennsylvania that was thanks to a state AG you know who put out that raging wildfire in Northern California that was firefighters use your head why would state AG's have been involved in that use your instincts here the fact is the fact is though AG's often work on politically neutral matters and they still do but in recent decades they've also become significantly more partisan one small sign of this is that while all AG's belong to the National Association of attorneys general or nag around two decades ago Republicans formed a separate committee just for them raga and the Democrats followed suit with dagger and I do know that rocket and dagger sound like twins from Dutch folklore that teach children about right and wrong Rocka always milks the cow when its udders are swollen but darker is off making nonsense with a goose when darker is given no dinner this is justice but arguably the most high-profile way in which this job has become more partisan is the extent to which a GS belonging to one party have teamed up to bring lawsuits against the federal government now that used to be relatively rare but starting in the Obama years the number of those sort of lawsuits skyrocketed it was Republican AG's who successfully limited the Medicaid expansion of Obamacare and suing the government became a point of pride for AG's like Texas's Greg Abbott what I do is I go into the office I sue the federal government and then I go home I've sued the Obama administration now 25 times over the last four years yeah but that is not the smirk of a guy who just goes into the office sues the government and goes home is it that's the smoke of a guy who goes into the office sues the government adjust the office thermostat without telling anyone steal someone's sandwich from the fridge farts in the elevator and then goes home now Apple has since gone on to become governor of Texas but his successor Ken Paxton was no less eager to sue the Obama administration just listened to his wife proudly describing Paxton's love for lawsuits in what apparently I legally have to call a song I'm a pistol-packing mama yes I I'm a pistol-packing mama Esaias I'm a pistol-packing mama and my husband sues Obama again I never thought I would say this but I would honestly rather listen to moose knuckle Elvis Shirley Temple get up in his living room in a too-tight onesie now Paxton himself is actually a really good example of how a state AG's political views can significantly impact their work he told County Clerk's that they could refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples he was a lead plaintiff in a lawsuit that shot down an Obama era rule that would have made four million people eligible for overtime pay and when the Obama administration tried to extend protections for transgender kids in public schools Paxton sued and said this any man that decides that they wanted to clear themselves to be female for the day can walk into your daughter's locker room or bathroom it now opens the door for anybody no matter what they are and how they're thinking they can change their gender for a day and have the ability to walk into a women's locker room it's just not right what the are you talking about obvious bigotry aside transgender people don't just switch identity for convenience they are human beings not read frogs that's right read frogs should the need arise can spontaneously change from female to male I just hit you with an unexpected frog fact in the middle of talking about state attorneys general I know what you're thinking where the is Rachael Ray in the next village I'm gonna write just be patient be patient she'll be here she's making frittatas and you're all going to have a taste now should be here just be patient now now now Paxton has actually spent almost his entire time in office under indictment and is awaiting trial for securities fraud but that is not evenly ken Paxton related allegation I would like to show you instead I'd like to focus on one mentioned in a real attack ad from his current opponent this is the collin county courthouse where a dallas attorney accidentally left a $1,000 pen at the metal detectors this is Ken Paxton the indicted Texas Attorney General rummaging through the metal detector trays and stealing that $1,000 pen and this is Ken Paxton the indicted Texas Attorney General walking away with a stolen pen vote Justin Nelson for Texas Attorney General he will fight on behalf of all Texans and he won't steal no pain yes that's a relief although thanks to that ad earlier I would also like to know that he won't steal my pen or show me his penis or for that matter shown me his pen or steal my penis I wouldn't need to know all his positions on the penis pen show-steal continuum still the larger point is state AG's are increasingly partisan and when you look at how ken Paxton has used his power it is hard not to think that that is a bad thing but partisanship can cut both ways and now that Trump is in office democratic state AG's are the ones filing lawsuits against the president and while you may have been unhappy to hear people cheer for that pistol-packing mama as husband suing Obama I suspect it may feel a little different hearing the Democratic AG of Washington state say this we have 19 since the donald trump became president we've filed 19 lawsuits against administration so what do you say to people who just think you have an axe to grind against this guy why I plead guilty [Laughter] you see it's interesting how your feelings on soon the government can change a lot based on who is saying it it's like how I'm getting off here is a fine thing for someone to say if they're standing next to the door of a train but a very rude thing to say if they are masturbating on that same train so look state AG's have a lot of power and while many of us may not have been aware of that corporations and other special interests certainly have because both rocker and dagger have been increasingly aggressive about raising funds and one way they do that is by organizing events where they essentially sell access to AG's ragga especially has some pretty lavish getaways where industries can mingle with the AG's who are supposed to be policing them as CPS found when its part on one in South Carolina we saw at least nine state AG's rubbing shoulders with representatives from Koch Industries Big Tobacco payday lenders and the NRA the dress code resort casual CBS News reviewed 88 donations over $50,000 and found more than half of the donors had matters under consideration by a state attorney general or had recently settled now rocker says there is absolutely no quid pro quo there so I guess those groups simply donated substantial amounts of money because they wanted to chillax to the max at a resort casual clambake with North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem oh yeah he's not just the AG of North Dakota he's the mayor of margarita blue Wayne parties hard he's an animal and look some state AG's have been ridiculously cozy with corporations take scott pruett former head of the EPA he previously served as Oklahoma's AG where he had a very close relationship with energy companies he sued the EPA 14 times and wrote the agency multiple letters about policies that threatened to impact local oil companies like Devon Energy but when a reporter obtained copies of Pruitt's correspondence with Devon he noticed a weird coincidence the letters that scott pruett had written were identical copies in most cases of draft letters that Devon had sent him he had taken those letters and simply put him on a stationery and sentiment as if they were essentially the state law enforcement official opinion it was like holy exactly like he said holy and that sure looks like Pruitt let an oil company do his work for him although to be fair maybe he just happened to think up the exact same words in the exact same order that they did maybe you find that plausible personally I find it about as plausible as I do the idea that the family in a quiet place stayed silent for 472 days Wow no one thought Eid for more than a year that could really be the title of the movie because that is genuinely incredible so so state AG's are powerful increasingly partisan and over half of them are on the ballot this year and Republicans are very much ready for this fight as Arkansas state AG and chair of raga Leslie Rutledge will tell you when it comes to the Democratic AG's I can't speak to what they do I know they raise a heck of a lot less money than the Republican AG's do because we have been crushing it ok so first again a bit of a dick move by the c-span Caravan they're undercutting her claims of crushing it with a cruel cut away to her audience candy crushing it but the fact is she is right Raja is really out raising dark and it seems they are now locked in an arms race for funds which just cannot be the healthiest way for this system to operate naughty raga naughty dagger if you keep keep behaving like that your parents will tell you to de see which like your sisters now interestingly Rutledge is one of the AG's up for election on November 6th as is possible pen thief Ken Paxton and if you live in any of these highlighted States you have got an Ag race to vote for and it is really worth taking a few minutes to research the candidates especially because many people who do actually vote end up leaving the AG box on the ballot empty so your vote for Ag may technically be even more valuable in Texas one poll showed that 39% of registered voters didn't name who that they would vote for for Ag because they and I quote haven't thought enough about it which sounds terrible but that's actually a cause for genuine hope because remember that is where Ken Paxton is running and if there is one thing sure to damage Ken Paxton's reputation it's an awareness of Ken Paxton's reputation so so please before November 6th just think about your AG race you can do it you've got nine days left and I know that we've all been asked to think about a lot this year from Supreme Court nominations to gun control to the energy of Pete Davidson's penis it's it's been a lot and now I am adding research your state AG race to your list but it is honestly worth it also if you do it you'll frankly be amazed at the kind of tidbits that you might find if you live in Wisconsin just google Brad Schimel $10,000 coins and you'll learn about how your AG managed to spend ten grand of taxpayer money on coins reading K AE D which stands for his actual personal motto kicking ass every day if you live in Arkansas Google Leslie Rutledge karaoke 2016 so you can see our friend from before absolutely crushing it on stage [Music] wait did that guy just say sing it Leslie I'm not sure that's encouragement I think that might be an honest plea sing it Leslie sing it don't just drone it a rhythmically and an inconsistent volume the bands in E major and you're in H try and bring it into the known musical universe Leslie and look if you're in Michigan and even if you are not please google Bill Schuette e 1989 video here's their current AG but he's not actually up for election because he's running for governor but it is still worth googling that so you can watch him creepily hitting on a woman behind the camera I would be happy to move closer to the land anything some things that may not let you run the camera on admire your tenacity appreciate your spirit of Vincent van Gogh Rembrandt Toulouse Lautrec oh that is rough to watch I don't know how she got through the interview without punching him in the dick but point here is a point here is taking just two minutes to research your state AG is a valuable use of your time and if you are thinking that you don't have two minutes you actually do because it's 11:28 right now I'm not saying goodbye until 11:30 so go to vote for one one org right now where you can find out if there is an election in your state and if so who your AG candidates are seriously do it now you will not be missing anything I promise nothing entertaining is going to happen for the rest of this show in fact to help drive you away for the rest of the broadcast a bagpiper will be playing Leslie Rutledge's favorite song she thinks my tractor's sexy take it away [Music] yes believe it or not these bagpipes make this song even more unlistenable than it already is that is an ungodly noise no disrespect turn this show off now and research your AG and if you haven't already been repelled into action I'll happily add an accordion into the mix oh yes the sweet sweet sound of a bagpipe are called into x2 sounds that come together what pop-tarts and fish gum two bunks for what one.org right now because I promise this just isn't gonna get any better and don't push me on this mentally sound think again don't join me should be watching this show anymore [Music] coming tonight [Applause] that we're never going to pay for charters [Applause] how are you somehow the worst ingredients in all this any Jews because these guys are about to get loud [Music]

Channel: LastWeekTonight

Views: 6,203,954

Keywords: last week tonight state attorneys general, john oliver state attorneys general, state attorney general

Id: UpdMYOtAmKY

Length: 19min 6sec (1146 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 28 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/jessejjang]

I am still waiting for Rachael Ray.

[u/[deleted]]

[removed]

[u/Crazhr]

As bad as the last 2 min were I still found the creepy guy trying to sound impressive way worse!

[u/lonezolf]

My ears... they bleed.

[u/FinallyGivenIn]

Another informative piece about a part of the political system that depends on the interest of the citizen to work effectively. Take an effort to research your powers-to-be, because the rich and the powerful sure as hell have done their due dilligence

[u/inksmudgedhands]

Oh, God, watching those last two minutes was brutal. My state's AG isn't up for election. So there was no need for me to go check out that other site. That and I had to see how deep that noisy rabbit hole he was willing to go. I can only imagine how bad it was for the live audience. Oliver looked like he was in actual pain there for a moment.

[u/Swiggy1957]

He started with my state's AG. I'll have to ask my granddaughter about his Elvis impersonation: One of her teachers is his wife, and the class worked on a project at their place a year or two ago.

[u/redbluegreenyellow]

I don't understand why he brought up Curtis Hill's elvis impersonation but failed to talk about the sexual harassment accusations leveled against Hill.

[u/Symbolis]

Oh dear, Bill Schuette.

That was something.