The Brian Lehrer Show
Law of the Jungle: An Environmental Ruling with a Big Twist
Update 10/2/14: We've received a statement from Steven Donziger in response to our interview with Paul Barrett. Read that statement at the bottom of this page.
In 2011, an Ecuadoran judge fined Chevron $19billion for damages caused to the Amazon region and its people. It was one of the biggest environmental lawsuits of all time, but after the ruling, the case took a big twist when questions about the winning lawyer emerged. Paul Barrett, assistant managing editor and senior writer at Bloomberg Businessweek, investigates the case, and the lawyer Steven Donziger, in his new book Law of the Jungle: The $19 Billion Legal Battle Over Oil in the Rain Forest and the Lawyer Who'd Stop at Nothing to Win (Crown, 2014).
Listen to Our 2011 Interview with Humberto Piaguaje, Leader of the Secoya People
Statement from Steven Donziger in Response to Our Interview with Paul Barrett
“I firmly believe in fact-based journalism and I am more than willing to tolerate legitimate criticism of decisions made in a litigation. But Mr. Barrett’s fundamentally dishonest book attacking my integrity goes well beyond the boundaries governing journalistic ethics. It not only is defamatory as regards me, it exaggerates the author’s level of access to the key players and tries to leave the impression I cooperated with him when I did not. It is filled with errors, shoddy research, and made up scenes. Mr. Barrett cribs much of his material from Chevron’s legal briefs. My hope is that Mr. Barrett and his publisher will take all steps necessary to correct the problems outlined and will do so forthwith.”
Please see the following links for my appellate brief to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals and a more detailed critique of Mr. Barrett’s book:
A Further Statement from Matthew Martin, Senior Vice President and Associate General Council for Penguin Random House, LLC
“We generally refrain from commenting on pending legal claims. However, I can tell you that Law of the Jungle was carefully and diligently researched over many years and we stand fully behind Paul Barrett’s reporting.”