Republicans conducting "witch hunts," say scientists

As I originally read in The Huffington Post, the Guardian writes how some environmental scientists who are also the leading experts on global warming issues are accusing the Republicans of conducting a "witch hunt" against them.

Some of America's leading scientists have accused Republican politicians of intimidating climate-change experts by placing them under unprecedented scrutiny.

A far-reaching inquiry into the careers of three of the US's most senior climate specialists has been launched by Joe Barton, the chairman of the House of Representatives committee on energy and commerce. He has demanded details of all their sources of funding, methods and everything they have ever published.

Mr Barton, a Texan closely associated with the fossil-fuel lobby, has spent his 11 years as chairman opposing every piece of legislation designed to combat climate change.

Interestingly enough, the strongest language AGAINST these tactics come from house science committee member, Republican Sherwood Boehlert:

But the strongest language came from another Republican, Sherwood Boehlert, the chairman of the house science committee. He wrote to "express my strenuous objections to what I see as the misguided and illegitimate investigation".

He said it was pernicious to substitute political review for scientific peer review and the precedent was "truly chilling". He said the inquiry "seeks to erase the line between science and politics" and should be reconsidered.

He was right...the next paragraphs are "truly chilling."

A spokeswoman for Mr Barton said yesterday that all the required written evidence had been collected.

"The committee will review everything we have and decided how best to proceed. No decision has yet been made whether to have public hearings to investigate the validity of the scientists' findings, but that could be the next step for this autumn," she said.

What's next? Will the committee accuse them of being "pro-terrorist" because their findings don't agree with Administration policy?