Two Democratic senators urged the Department of Justice today to compel Volkswagen to come clean about any criminal activity that transpired among executives as the company faces federal inquiries into its "defeat device" emissions scandal.

"Officials at Volkswagen should be granted no get out of jail free card, and the Department should accept no plea agreement with Volkswagen that does not ensure any and all information regarding criminal acts by high level officials is provided to the Department," Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Amy Klobuchar wrote in a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

The senators called for a "thorough but expeditious" DOJ criminal investigation, and for the department "to take strong civil and criminal actions" against the German automaker and any individuals found to have violated the law.

"The U.S. government needs to make it clear that these actions, whether involving safety defects, consumer deception, or regulatory violations, will not be tolerated by the American public," Blumenthal and Klobuchar wrote.