Open and Shut Up Case

Agencies investigate claims of muzzling by Bush administration

Has the Bush administration tried to suppress climate-change research? We'd tell you, but there's a guy in a trench coat watching us type. Maybe inspectors general at NASA and the Commerce Department will have better luck as they investigate claims that climate scientists were muzzled by political appointees at NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The inquiry, prompted by a request from 14 Democratic senators, is "going to shake up the administration, because it will uncover internal documents and agency correspondence that may expose widespread misconduct," said Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.). "Taxpayers do not fund scientific research so that the Bush White House can alter it." A spokesflack for the White House Council on Environmental Quality called the claims of interference "false," saying with a straight face, "We have in place the most transparent system of science reporting." The results of the probe should be available early next year.