Members of Congress are asking for a federal investigation into ExxonMobil.
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Los Angeles) and Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Walnut Creek) wrote a letter Wednesday to Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch asking the Department of Justice whether the company violated the law by “failing to disclose truthful information” regarding climate change.
The letter cites recent investigations by the Los Angeles Times, Columbia University’s Energy and Environmental Reporting Project, and Inside Climate News, which showed the company incorporated climate change research into its operations while publicly casting doubt on that very same science.
“When I read the Times investigation it occurred to me that it is very similar to what the tobacco companies were doing decades ago,” Lieu said. “Evidence showed that what they were saying was incorrect and they kept spreading this disinformation campaign.”
–The congressmen are asking the Department of Justice to investigate whether ExxonMobil violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act known as RICO, as well as consumer protection, truth in advertising, public health, shareholder protection or other laws.
RICO was the same law used to prosecute tobacco companies, which allows a company’s higher-ups to be held responsible for the actions of those they supervise.
“Exxon’s situation is even worse,” said Lieu, comparing the company’s behavior with the tobacco industry. “It was taking advantage of the science … while denying the facts to the public.”
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It is gratifying that a growing effort is underway to investigate those responsible for introducing a software fix designed to underestimate emissions of Volkswagen diesels during tests. This fraud may have resulted over the years in an excess of morbidity and death due to the emission of nitrogen oxides and other pollutants.
Now we are just beginning to become aware of a far more serious fraud, one with world-wide implications and the likelihood of far greater morbidity and death. Thanks to an investigation by Inside Climate News and reported recently in the Times by Naomi Oreskes (8 October, a paper trail has been exposed showing conclusively that Exxon officials were aware as far back as 1977 of the adverse effects of CO2 emissions on global warming. But rather than working with governments to take meaningful action that would have put us decades ahead in avoiding the worsening effect of climate change, Exxon officials chose instead to deny their evidence in a cynical attempt to preserve their profits.
This apparently constitutes criminal behavior for which those responsible should be investigated.
Don Hnatowich PhD
65 Naples Rd
Brookline, MA 02446
617 6997746
Luv it. Don’t trust scientists now who cite reams of material and peer-reviewed, science journal-published papers in their criticism of AGW while being allegedly bought and instructed by Exxon, but trust Exxon scientists on their global warming pronouncements back at a time when global cooling was all the rage. Yep, folks will see your tracks as they left the road on that one, across the gravel and straight over the cliff. Proof from Inside Climate News of instructions to lie and payments to do so to scientists skeptical of AGW – hoarded in some hidden location all these years – will be made available ……… when, exactly?
“back at a time when global cooling was all the rage” Paper: http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/pdf/10.1175/2008BAMS2370.1
A quote: “There was no scientific consensus in the 1970s that the Earth was headed into an imminent ice age. Indeed, the possibility of anthropogenic warming dominated the peer-reviewed literature even then.” Don’t look now, but your lack of credibility is showing…
Russell never had any credibility when it comes to AGW, and that’s because Russell knows no science (and he admits it). Russell was merely copying from his “Talking Points for Deniers” manual—the one that is provided to all the lying POS’s like Russell who whore for the fossil fuel interests. The Ice Age lie is one of those that they repeat endlessly in order to confuse the issue, nothing more.
Go away, you pathetic denier moron!
In case anyone hasn’t noticed, Russell has admitted on another thread that he knows how to hack the “thumbs up or down” feature on WordPress blogs and award himself multiple “ups”. That’s why this comment now has “two thumbs up”, and if it garners any more, they will also be self-awarded by Russell. Russell has never gotten a “thumbs up” from any sane Crocker in the past.
The thumbs DOWN on this comment is from me, and if I were a duplicitous, cheating, lying scumbag like Russell, it would be more like 50 “downs”. Unfortunately, I am an honest man, so I haven’t tried to find out how to hack WordPress and give more than one “up” or “down” to a comment.
I would suggest that we all ignore all Russell’s lying horseshit and instead just award him “thumbs down” when he appears. Of course, he may know how to erase those, so it may be a futile exercise. Perhaps silence is our best weapon.
Sir, applause from me for putting into words the exact sentiments I am feeling too, and boldly displaying your identity and address. Some of us are nervous about that, maybe it’s time to step out and move beyond all of that.
In the 21st Century ethics should mean a lot in business. The early days of a quick buck and anything goes should be behind us.
We have moved on and need to address the position we find ourselves in.
You nail it in your post.
Prosecute them!
On this, I heartily agree. Court trials involve cross examination from defending lawyers, in case you forget. It seems the collective lot of you routinely forget what the core evidence of the RICO stuff is based on.
Brave talk from the paid denier moron. Perhaps he thinks he is far enough removed from Exxon’s sins that he won’t be prosecuted?. Perhaps so, since the Merchants of Doubt that Russell works for did skate on the tobacco prosecutions. But that was then and this is now.
As AGW impacts worsen and the outrage builds, we can hope that the RICO prosecutions will go deeper this time and reach down to the level of the paid propagandists like Russell at Heartland. Russell’s fingerprints are all over the lying there—-his baseball cap with the pin from Fred Singer, his inclusion on Fred’s addressee list for the “Omigod—they’ve caught us—-what shall we do?” emails, the payroll records at Heartland.
You’re dirty, Russell, and I hop I live long enough to watch you go down.
PS Russell has hacked WordPress and again given himself two thumbs up. The “down” is mine.
If the RICO case ever goes to trial and Exxon is desperate enough to call Russell Cook as an “expert” witness, I’m buying popcorn for everybody! As in all you can eat — it’s on me!
Hmmm, I haven’t heard of the ““Omigod—they’ve caught us—-what shall we do?” emails. Are those archived somewhere?
Yes, they are indeed “archived”, although I made up that name as a joke. They are more formally known as the “Fred Singer leaked emails on Merchants of Doubt” or similar names. If you haven’t spent much time on desmogblog, I suggest that you do. They are one of the best collectors of “dirt” on the deniers, and they posted the “Omigod, we’re caught” on their site. Read what they have to say about Singer or any of the others on the email addressee list..
http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Fred%20Singer%20emails%20re%20Merchants%20of%20Doubt.pdf
Inside Climate News is another good source—if you’re not familiar with all the paid denier whores, here’s a quick summary of who they are and what they’re up to. Our resident anal orifice and paid denier whore Russell Cook appears in both places links (and he STILL refuses to tell us how and why he appears on the address list for Singer’s emails).
http://insideclimatenews.org/news/12032015/leaked-email-reveals-whos-who-list-climate-denialists-merchants-of-doubt-oreskes-fred-singer-marc-morano-steve-milloy
Much thanks, Desmogblog has been a good resource over the years, but Inside Climate News seems to be really doing a lot lately.