Democrats are asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate major oil companies and their trade groups after a congressional investigation concluded that the industry has deceived the public for decades on climate change.

The three-year investigation, initiated by Democrats on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, accuses ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, the American Petroleum Institute and the American Chamber of Commerce of engaging in a "deceptive and ambiguous public relations campaign" while internally admitting that fossil fuels have caused climate change since the 1960s.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Rep. Jamie Raskin wrote in a May 22 letter to the Justice Department: "looto4dWe believe there is sufficient evidence that fossil fuel industry companies and industry associations may have violated one or more federal regulations, and therefore further investigation is necessary."

The American Petroleum Institute issued a statement criticizing the Democratic move as an "unfounded political trick designed to divert attention from continued inflation and the U.S. need for more energy, including oil and natural gas."

"American energy workers are focused on providing the reliable, affordable oil and gas Americans need, and any statement to the contrary is false," Andrea Woods, a spokeswoman for the group, said in a statement.

The two committees released the 65-page report last month, along with hundreds of pages of company documents. It accuses oil companies of a range of misconduct, including publicly supporting the Paris climate agreement while internally admitting that their business models are inconsistent with the situation.

It also said the companies were wrongly touting natural gas as a bridge fuel to a cleaner future while ignoring its significant impact on the climate; the report also said the industry has invested heavily in universities around the world to win support for fossil fuels as part of the energy transition.

"Our investigation into the fossil fuel industry is reminiscent of Congress's historic investigation of fraud by the tobacco industry and its industry associations, which led to investigations and lawsuits by several state attorneys general and the Justice Department," Senate Budget Committee Chairman Whitehouse and House Oversight Committee Democratic Leader Raskin said in the letter.

The Justice Department said it received the letter but declined to comment further.