Attorney General Loretta Lynch has in the past suggested going after climate change “deniers,” which in and of itself shows an astounding lack of concern for what things like justice and freedom of speech actually mean. Now, Lynch admits that the Department of Justice has had discussions as to whether or not they actually go after them.

“This matter has been discussed. We have received information about it and have referred it to the FBI to consider whether or not it meets the criteria for which we could take action on,” Lynch said at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Justice Department operations. […] “Senator, thank you for raising that issue, and thank you for your work in this area. I know your commitment is deep. This matter has been discussed. We have received information about it and have referred it to the FBI to consider whether or not it meets the criteria for which we could take action on. I’m not aware of a civil referral at this time,” said Lynch. “I will look into that and get back to you, but I’m not aware of a civil referral outside of the one that you just raised,” added Lynch.

The basis here is the Clinton-era RICO lawsuit against the tobacco industry for misleading statements on the harmful effects of tobacco. Back in the 90s, the government brought up a massive lawsuit against the tobacco industry for leading people to believe the science behind smoking was “unsettled,” a term that is used frequently by climate change deniers skeptics of man-made climate change.

But, whereas the science on the effects of tobacco on the body have been vindicated, the science on climate change has not been. It has consistently been wrong every time a benchmark date hits.

However, more than that, this isn’t a matter of killing people with the cancerous effects of smoking. This is a matter of speech. People are free to deny whatever they want to. You have every right to believe what you want, whether you are wrong or not. That is what the freedom of speech is.

For the Department of Justice to even seriously consider a lawsuit on this shows just how politicized and, more importantly, weaponized federal government can be. Rather than being a body that functions, it is a body that punishes. That is not the government that was set up at the beginning of our nation’s history. That is the government they escaped.