PHILIP HAMBURGER: The Unconstitutionality Of The Exxon Subpoena. “Most sobering of all are the implications for freedom of speech and political dissent. An attorney general is apt to demand information only when the target violates what a majority in his state considers the boundaries of law or justice. But that is a central part of the constitutional danger. The discretionary executive power to extract private information will tend to be used only when it is apt to satisfy the demos. Of course Exxon is not Socrates, and its empirical research is a far cry from his elenctic inquiry. Nonetheless, there are parallels, for the prosecutorial subpoena to Exxon appeals to populist anxieties. In refusing to join the crowd—in refusing to accept its climate beliefs—Exxon has questioned the gods of the city, and for this it now is being forced to answer.”