American Tradition Institute v. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Dr. James Hansen)
The Case
On January 19, 2011, American Tradition Institute’s Environmental Law Center filed a federal Freedom of Information Act request (PDF) with NASA, seeking records detailing whether and how ‘global warming’ activist Dr. James Hansen of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) has complied with applicable federal ethics and financial disclosure laws and regulations, and NASA Rules of Behavior.
This request seeks records of longtime, taxpayer-funded activist Dr. Hansen, to determine whether Dr. Hansen has filed applications for outside employment, like speeches, books (emails obtained already indicate NASA staffed worked on this), cash awards and other gifts, and other support.
NASA denied ATI’s request in March in part because of a FOIA exemption that “permits the Government to withhold all information about individuals in ‘personnel and medical files’ when the disclosure of such information ‘would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.’” Also in NASA’s denial was the claim that ATI “failed to make the requisite showing with respect to Dr. Hansen’s outside activity …, namely, how these specific documents would contribute to the public’s understanding of the operations or activities of the Government, or how it would shed light on NASA’s performance of its statutory duties, such that the public’s disclosure outweighs Dr. Hansen’s privacy interest.”
On June 21, 2011 American Tradition Institute’s Environmental Law Center filed a lawsuit in federal district court in the District of Columbia to force NASA to release ethics records for Dr. Hansen. ATI maintains that NASA’s compliance with ethics laws, and a senior employee’s outside revenue-generating activities, are patently of public interest, as is clear in the Ethics in Government Act of 1978.
Case Documents (PDF)
June 21, 2011
Complaint and Prayer for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief
Exhibit 1: Jan. 19, 2011 ATI Freedom of Information Act Request
Exhibit 2: Dr. Hansen 2007 SF-278 Disclosure
Exhibit 3: Dr. Hansen 2008 SF-278 Disclosure
Exhibit 4: Dr. Hansen 2009 SF-278 Disclosure
Exhibit 5: Gavin Schmidt’s Permission to Engage in Outside Employment or Activity (Form 17-60)
Exhibit 6: NASA Initial Determination (February 15, 2011)
Exhibit 7: ATI’s Appeal Under the Freedom of Information Act (March 15, 2011)
Exhibit 8: NASA Final Determination (May 2011)
ATI Press Releases
June 29, 2011
June 21, 2011
March 16, 2011
January 19, 2011
ATI Environmental Law Center Seeks NASA Records on Dr. James Hansen
ATI Commentary
“Suing NASA and UVA,” by Paul Chesser, 8/19/2011, American Spectator
“Elite Science’s Selective Outrage,” by Paul Chesser, 6/29/2011, American Spectator
“Lawsuit Seeks Ethics Filings of NASA’s Global Warming Activist, James Hansen,” by Christopher Horner, 6/23/2011, Big Government
“NASA Must Release Records For Tax Funded Global Warming Activist,” by Christopher Horner, 6/21/2011, Townhall.com
Media Coverage
“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” 8/15/2011, Canada Free Press
“Greens Go for the Gold, Leave Us in the Red,” 7/22/2011, Washington Times
“NASA’s Inconvenient Ruse,” 7/21/2011, Forbes
“Did climate scientist James Hansen personally benefit from public office?” 6/21/2011, Daily Caller
“NASA Scientist Accused of Using Celeb Status Among Environmental Groups to Enrich Himself,” 6/22/2011, FoxNews.com
“Conservative group sues NASA for climate scientist’s records,” 6/22/2011, The Hill
“James Hansen, Government Employee, Climate Scientist on the Take,” 6/23/2011, American Thinker
Broadcast Interviews
Roger Hedgecock Show with Christopher Horner, 8/30/2011
Blogs
“Bizarre: NYT follows AAAS lead on ‘FOIA requests equate to death threats,’” 6/29/2011, Watts Up With That
“Climate Science Disclosures – Freedom Of Information Or Chilling Effect?” 6/29/2011, Science 2.0
“AAAS campaigns to stop attacks on global warming advocates,” 6/29/2011, Behind the Black
“NASA’s Hansen asked to account for outside activities,” 6/21/2011, Watts Up With That
[...] ATI Environmental Law Center’s Web page for all documents, press releases and media coverage in its case against [...]
[...] and its efforts to obtain outside employment records of climate activist Dr. James Hansen from the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA). AAAS wrote, in part, “we are concerned that establishing a practice of aggressive inquiry [...]
[...] of Science, thoroughly rattled by the American Tradition Institute’s FOIA requests of UVa and NASA — and even more so by the litigation forced by the institutions’ respective [...]
[...] and documents written by Mann— ATI’s January 19, 2011, filing of a Freedom of Information Act request for NASA to hand over documents detailing “whether and how ‘global warming’ activist Dr. [...]
[...] and documents written by Mann — ATI’s January 19, 2011, filing of a Freedom of Information Act request for NASA to hand over documents detailing “whether and how ‘global warming’ activist Dr. [...]
[...] harassment of leading climate scientists is exemplified by the American Tradition Institute’s suit against NASA (in particular climate scientist Dr. James Hansen). In this case, the ATI is going [...]
[...] federal Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against NASA to obtain the outside employment records of global warming activist Dr. James [...]
[...] As with AAAS's panic over our FOIAs — who wouldn't see them as akin to death threats? I mean, other than those who don't confuse death-by-transparency of a movement with the real thing — this is clearly prompted out of desperation over our transparency campaign (see, e.g., the successful effort to compel production of University of Virginia's "Hockey Stick" and other Michael Mann records here, and seeking the ethics file — if it exists — governing James Hansen's lucrative extracurriculars here). [...]
[...] federal Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against NASA to obtain the outside employment records of global warming activist Dr. James [...]
[...] of Science (AAAS), rattled by the American Tradition Institute’s FOIA requests of UVa and NASA — and even more so by the litigation forced by the institutions’ stonewalling — [...]
[...] it waits for the resolution of its Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which seeks the outside [...]
[...] why my organization, American Tradition Institute, initiated two public records requests (which have turned into Freedom of Information Act lawsuits) for the work of key figureheads in [...]