Trump Climate Hacks Maue And Legates FIRED After Unauthorized Dump Of Cherry-Picked BS Releases
A last-ditch effort by climate critics to cement their views in the public record fell apart yesterday after two of their own were summarily dismissed by White House officials. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) removed climate denialist David Legates yesterday after it was revealed that he attempted to publish cherry-picked and incomplete claims about global warming.
Legates, along with NOAA chief scientist Ryan Maue, were "relieved of duties" at the White House after it was revealed they were part of an effort to publish a series of flyers that blamed climate change on solar energy and natural variability, among other misleading assertions. The papers, dubbed the "Climate Change Flyers," used the White House executive seal as well as the seal from OSTP — even though neither was approved. They were an attempt to establish a government record of denialist claims that could be used in both the National Climate Assessment as well as in court cases against regulations, according to those involved.
The effort surprised OSTP Director Kelvin Droegemeier and was not authorized. "Dr. Droegemeier was outraged to learn of the materials that were not shared with or approved by OSTP leadership. He first became aware of the documents when contacted by the press," spokeswoman Kristina Baum said in a statement. "As a result, Dr. Droegemeier took swift action and the individuals responsible have been relieved of their duties at OSTP."
Even as the Trump administration has rolled back dozens of climate regulations, deleted climate information from government websites and penalized federal climate scientists, it was never able to successfully roll out its own distorted version of climate science.
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