NEW YORK — A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit by Exxon Mobil Corp. aimed at stopping an investigation by New York and Massachusetts officials into whether the oil giant misled investors and the public about its knowledge of climate change and how the issue could affect its business.
‘‘Exxon’s allegations that the AGs are pursuing bad faith investigations in order to violate Exxon’s constitutional rights are implausible and therefore must be dismissed for failure to state a claim,’’ Manhattan US District Judge Valerie Caproni said.
In her ruling, Caproni described Exxon’s lawsuit as ‘‘running roughshod over the adage that the best defense is a good offense.’’
Exxon sued Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and her New York counterpart, Eric Schneiderman, in 2016 after they subpoenaed documents about Exxon research into the role of fossil fuels in climate change.
The global oil and gas company called their investigation politically motivated and accused the Democrats of trying to take away the company’s free-speech rights on an important issue.
Healey late Thursday said called it a ‘‘turning point’’ in their investigation and a ‘‘victory for the people.’’
“Exxon has run a scorched earth campaign to avoid answering our basic questions about the company’s awareness of climate change. Today, a federal judge has thoroughly rejected the company’s obstructionist and meritless arguments to block our investigation,’’ Healey said.
Schneiderman said he was pleased with the court’s decision.
The Texas-based Exxon said it was reviewing the judge’s decision and evaluating its next steps.
‘‘We believe the risk of climate change is real and we want to be part of the solution,’’ Exxon said in a statement. ‘‘We’ve invested about $8 billion on energy efficiency and low-emission technologies such as carbon capture and next generation biofuels.’’
The states have been investigating since 2015 whether Exxon misled the public and investors about the reality of climate change, including the ways it could impact the company’s finances. They’re also examining whether Exxon properly valued its reserves based on what its scientists projected.
Exxon claimed the evidence of political motivation includes meetings the attorneys general had with environmental groups and Schneiderman’s claim at the press conference that Barack Obama’s environmental agenda was being opposed by “morally vacant’’ forces.
The judge said the company offered “extremely thin allegations and speculative inferences.’’
“The factual allegations against the AGs boil down to statements made at a single press conference and a collection of meetings with climate-change activists,’’ she wrote.
“Some statements made at the press conference were perhaps hyperbolic, but nothing that was said can fairly be read to constitute declaration of a political vendetta against Exxon.’’
Material from Bloomberg News was used in this report.
