To: President Donald Trump

Investigate Climate Change Deniers Under RICO

We strongly endorse Senator Whitehouse’s call for a RICO investigation to urge the White House to investigate under RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act), corporations and other organizations that have knowingly deceived the American people about the risks of climate change, as a means to forestall America’s response to climate change.

Why is this important?

The actions of these organizations have been extensively documented in peer reviewed academic research (Brulle, 2013) and in recent books including: Doubt is their Product (Michaels, 2008), Climate Cover-Up (Hoggan & Littlemore, 2009), Merchants of Doubt (Oreskes & Conway, 2010), The Climate War (Pooley, 2010), and in The Climate Deception Dossiers (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2015).

Successful prosecution of the tobacco industry under the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations act) is a valid example of the power and effect of this act. It's high time to apply it to the fossil fuel industry it's CEOs and it's paid propagandists.