Billionaire Australian mining magnate Clive Palmer accused the CIA of funding environmental extremists seeking to cripple the island nation’s industry, saying during a press conference that the money was being routed through conduits such as the infamous Rockefeller Foundation. And the Australians involved in the alleged plot are essentially committing “treason,” Palmer declared.

The CIA, environmentalist organizations such as Greenpeace, and Australian Green Party politicians all rejected the accusations. But the high-profile remarks from Palmer, a professor who owns a massive business empire worth billions and is a significant financial contributor to the center-right Liberal National Party (LNP), caused a firestorm of controversy across the nation.
 
The allegations were delivered after Palmer learned of a widely criticized leaked environmentalist report — “Stopping the Australian Coal Export Boom" — outlining plans to undermine the Australian mining sector using the courts. The document, produced by the controversial group Greenpeace, laid out a scheme to funnel millions of dollars into lawsuits aimed at thwarting the coal industry in the state of Queensland.
 
Citing the 1970s-era Church Committee reports — products of a broad U.S. congressional investigation into intelligence agencies exposing secret funding to a wide array of private organizations — Palmer said the CIA was behind the “green” plot. And the goal in Australia, he said, is to destroy local industry.

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