Democratic Senator Calls for Application of Racketeering Laws to Oil Companies

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island), pictured above, and a cadre of prominent lawyers are pushing for oil companies to be held liable under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”), just as tobacco companies were in 2006.

In 2006, and as affirmed in 2009, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia found eleven tobacco companies guilty of racketeering under RICO. Specifically, the tobacco companies had the specific intent to defraud the public about the health hazards of smoking tobacco.

Now, Senator Whitehouse, and Sharon Eubanks – a former Justice Department attorney involved in the victory over the tobacco companies – are advocating for RICO to be applied to oil companies. This theory turns on allegations that oil companies lied about the link between carbon pollution and climate change even after its own scientists established that global warming was real. Senator Whitehouse said that the parallels between the actions of the tobacco companies and the alleged actions of the oil companies was “striking.”

Relatedly, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is currently investigating whether ExxonMobil lied to the public or its investors about climate change.

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