JONATHAN TURLEY

The White House is defending its suppression of the results of health threats caused by global warming. It insists that it cut out all but four pages of the 14 page testimony because Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ventured into areas covered by other agencies. The problem with this post-rationalization is three-fold. First, if you look at testimony of the Defense Secretary or other witnesses, they routinely address issues shared with or largely controlled by other agencies. Second, Gerberding was specifically called to testify on these threats and she was testifying on the results of the CDC study of the problem. Third, if the White House was truly worried about other agencies, it could have required a disclaimer at the outset to that end. For the Administration’s response, click here