Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) on Wednesday asked a federal court to toss out a subpoena requesting decades of internal data in a case brought against the oil and gas company by a team of state attorneys general.

According to Reuters, the subpoena claims Exxon executives essentially contradicted papers published by their own company scientists regarding climate change effects and threats. The angle of the case is to paint any intentionally misleading representation on the part of executives as securities fraud.

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Earlier this year, Benzinga.com reported on investigations by attorney generals from both California and New York based on similar suspicions of climate change research suppression by the company.

"Exxon said in Wednesday’s filing that the subpoena seeks documents outside of the statute of limitations and that activist groups encouraged opening inquiries," according to Reuters. Republican members of congress have urged the prosecutors in this case not to treat a policy issue as a matter for law-enforcement.

Exxon shares were up 0.19 percent at $90.31 Thursday late morning after having experienced some steady declines earlier in the day.