Intelligence aide, blocked from submitting written testimony on climate change, resigns from State D
Source: Washington Post
Climate and Environment
Intelligence aide, blocked from submitting written testimony on climate change, resigns from State Dept.
Rod Schoonover's decision to leave was voluntary, according to individuals familiar with the matter
By Juliet Eilperin
July 10 at 1:35 PM
A State Department intelligence official who was blocked by the White House from submitting written congressional testimony on climate change last month is resigning from his post.
Rod Schoonover -- who worked in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research's Office of the Geographer and Global Issues -- spoke before the House Intelligence Committee on June 5 about the security risks the United States faces because of climate change. But White House officials would not let him submit the bureau's written statement that climate impacts could be "possibly catastrophic," after the State Department refused to cut references to federal scientific findings on climate change.
Individuals familiar with the matter, who asked for anonymity to speak frankly, said Schoonover is leaving voluntarily. But the incident that led to his departure underscores the extent to which climate science has become contested terrain under the current administration.
Andrew Rosenberg, who directs the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said in a phone interview Wednesday that federal experts should be free to provide their expertise with policymakers, even if it is at odds with the views of whoever occupies the Oval Office. ... "This isn't carrying forward your political opinions," Rosenberg said. "This is bringing the work you're hired to do in a policy setting."
....
Juliet Eilperin is The Washington Post's senior national affairs correspondent, covering the transformation of federal environmental policy. She's authored two books, "Demon Fish: Travels Through The Hidden World of Sharks" and "Fight Club Politics: How Partisanship is Poisoning the House of Representatives." and has worked for The Post since 1998. Follow https://twitter.com/eilperin
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2019/07/10/intelligence-aide-blocked-submitting-written-testimony-climate-change-resigns-state-department/
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Intelligence aide, blocked from submitting written testimony on climate change, resigns from State Department
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Previously at DU:
W.House blocked intelligence agency's written testimony call climate change 'possibly catastrophic
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016233396
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