Whitehouse, Raskin Urge DOJ to Investigate Fossil Fuel Disinformation
Evidence Reveals that Big Oil’s Tactics Mirror Those of Big Tobacco
Washington, D.C. –Senate Budget Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse and House Oversight and Accountability Ranking Member Jamie Raskin called on Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Big Oil for its decades-long disinformation campaign to mislead the public about the climate effects of fossil fuels and obstruct climate action.
The letter follows multiple House Oversight Committee hearings and memoranda—as well as the release of a joint staff report and a Senate Budget hearing—major milestones in a multi-year investigation initiated by House Oversight Democrats and now undertaken jointly with Senate Budget. The investigation also unveiled damning new documents that exposed the fossil fuel industry’s ongoing efforts to deceive the public and block climate action.
Sheldon Whitehouse
The joint investigation into ExxonMobil Corporation, Chevron Corporation, Shell Oil Company, BP America (BP), the American Petroleum Institute (API), and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, uncovered new evidence of the fossil fuel industry’s pattern of deceptive claims regarding its products, their effects on the climate, and its plans to reduce emissions and combat climate change.
“Our investigation revealed how Exxon, Chevron, Shell, BP, API, and the Chamber worked in concert to mislead the public, policymakers, and investors with public promises to reduce emissions and meaningfully contribute to the transition away from oil and gas, while privately seeking to lock in continued fossil fuel production for decades into the future,” wrote Whitehouse and Raskin. “
The investigation also demonstrated that the fossil fuel industry continues to knowingly obfuscate the dangers of natural gas, which they have billed as a clean and green fuel. This evidence, combined with the entities’ failure to comply fully with validly issued congressional subpoenas, suggests that further investigation by the executive branch is warranted.”
“Our investigation into the fossil fuel industry calls to mind the historic congressional investigation into deceptive practices of the tobacco industry and its trade associations, which led to investigations and litigation by several state attorneys general and the Department of Justice (DOJ),” they continued. “DOJ is well situated to pursue further investigation and take any appropriate legal action, as it has in similar cases involving the tobacco and pharmaceutical industries.”
The text of the letter is available here.