House Republicans are intensifying an investigation into alleged efforts to influence judges who could decide the fate of climate lawsuits that could cost the fossil fuel industry billions of dollars.
In one of three letters this week, House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan of Ohio and House Judiciary Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet Subcommittee Chair Darrell Issa of California said they are not satisfied with responses they’ve received from a legal education organization and “may be forced” to issue subpoenas against the group.
Their Tuesday letter to the Environmental Law Institute marks the latest turn in a continued effort by Republicans to target the organization, which GOP lawmakers have probed since 2023, when industry and conservative groups raised questions about objectivity of judges handling climate liability lawsuits.
The letter said the lawmakers last August requested information related to “credible reports” that ELI and its Climate Judiciary Project “had undertaken efforts to influence judges who potentially may be presiding over lawsuits related to alleged climate change.”
