ExxonMobil, one of the world’s largest gas and oil companies, now acknowledges that global warming is real, and that we need to take steps to reduce carbon dioxide emissions caused by human activities.

Further, the company was aware of the connection between global warming and the burning of fossil fuels since at least the 1970s. Yet it supported efforts to deny it.

This was big news when it came to light last year. But it seems that U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, either missed it or, as with so much other scientific evidence in conflict with his opinions, has chosen to ignore it.

One would think that climate change deniers like Mr. Smith would be angry at ExxonMobil and other fossil fuel interests that duped them for years and left them with so much egg on their faces.

One would think an elected official like Mr. Smith would see the harm that’s already becoming evident – rising waters, increasingly violent weather – and be furious at the oil industry for a disinformation campaign that thwarted efforts to address the problem.

So what is Mr. Smith doing? He’s interfering with an investigation of ExxonMobil.

This week, his committee issued subpoenas to New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and his Massachusetts counterpart, Maura Healey, over their probe of whether the company lied to investors and the public.

As Mr. Smith casts it, Mr. Schneiderman’s investigation is a “blatant effort to deny free speech.” He suggests some hidden agenda.

In reality, it’s Mr. Smith’s inquisition, based on cherry-picked data spun into pseudo-scientific gobbledygook, that’s a blatant effort to divert public attention from ExxonMobil’s past behavior, its stunning admissions, and the broad consensus of the scientists who actually study climate and have concluded that human activity is causing the planet to heat up. And that it will continue to do so unless humans take steps to reduce use of fossil fuel – efforts even ExxonMobil has come to agree are necessary.

Mr. Smith, unfortunately, isn’t alone in this denial. He has plenty of like-minded Republican colleagues in Congress. And the Republican National Committee’s election year platform so far includes – along with teaching the Bible in public schools – a declaration that coal is a “clean” source of energy. That’s a miracle yet to be achieved on a commercial scale.

Mr. Smith isn’t just another rank-and-file congressman. If he were so inclined, he could use his power as a key committee chairman to foster an intelligent debate on global warming and federal policies, such as a carbon tax, that could help shift America to more sustainable energy use.

Or he can abuse his power, as he is doing now with these subpoenas, and continue to shill for an industry whose deceptions he may well be among the last to buy.