“We are making a formal referral to Attorney General [Merrick] Garland to commence a proper inquiry into whether charges should be brought and what charges should be brought,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) told reporters.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said specifically that they want the Justice Department (DOJ) to “investigate big oil for its decades long disinformation campaign to mislead the American public about the climate effects of fossil fuels and to obstruct meaningful action on climate change.”
The pair invoked the department’s 1999 suit against major tobacco companies — noting that this was a civil suit under an anti-racketeering law.
The referral follows the Democrats’ release of a report last month on their findings and documents to back it up.
In one such document, an ExxonMobil media relations manager admits internally that the company was “working against” both climate science and climate policy.
Whitehouse said that the lawmakers “invite the Department of Justice to look through the documents that we’ve released” and “let them know that there’s a whole lot more documents for them to look to if they wish.”
In response to the latest move, the American Petroleum Institute described the Democrats' accusations as "unfounded" while the Chamber of Commerce accused the Democrats of using law enforcement against those they disagree with.
Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.
