Companies made "public promises to reduce emissions... while privately seeking to lock in continued fossil fuel production for decades into the future," wrote two Democratic leaders who referred the case.

The report, based on a three-year investigation, found that the industry has deceived the public about climate change since at least the 1960s, with its strategy shifting over the decades from outright denial to disinformation and doublespeak. It was authored by the Senate Committee on the Budget, chaired by Whitehouse (D-R.I.) , and the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Democrats, led by Raskin (D-Md.).

In the letter to Garland, the two lawmakers have taken the next step, calling for legal accountability for the wrongdoing they uncovered