Eight scientific societies are rushing to defend federal scientists who have landed in the crosshairs of a Republican lawmaker out to prove that a recent study about climate change used fudged data.

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), using his position as chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, recently subpoenaed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association to gain access to the correspondence of federal scientists who co-authored a research paper casting doubt on the claim there has been a recent "pause" in global warming.

Smith doesn't believe humans cause climate change, and he has suggested the study was "suspiciously timed" since it was published before a major international conference on climate change policy. He also accused the study of being rushed to publication without proper peer review.

NOAA is refusing to release the correspondence, arguing the internal discussions of its scientists are confidential. Lamar's critics have branded his subpoena a "witch hunt" because he allegedly has no proof of wrongdoing on NOAA's part.

In a Nov. 25 letter to the congressman, eight scientific societies chose more diplomatic language to persuade Lamar to drop the investigation. They said his request threatens the free exchange of ideas that is essential to the scientific process.

"Science cannot thrive when policymakers—regardless of party affiliation—use policy disagreements as a pretext to attack scientific conclusions without public evidence," they said.

In a more recent interview with NPR, Rush Holt, CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, said the scientific process is the best means for arriving at the truth.

"And that process should be allowed to work without political meddling," he says.

AAAS was one of the eight groups that signed the letter. The other seven are American Chemical Society, American Geophysical Union, American Meteorological Society, American Statistical Association, Ecological Society of America, Geological Society of America and Society for Conservation Biology. http://n.pr/1LYV4zN

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