Heartland Institute Responds to AP Story on Will Happer

Published June 14, 2019

The Associated Press published a story on June 14, 2019 making a big deal about Dr. William Happer, who advises President Trump on science and the environment on the National Security Council, emailing a couple of Heartland Institute Policy Advisors for feedback and advice.

This is hardly a scoop, let alone a scandal. For the record:

* Heartland (and friends) frequently communicate with many members of the Trump administration and every member of the U.S. Congress and every state elected official in the United States. Doing so is part of our mission and protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

* The Trump administration has asked Heartland for advice on climate and energy policy, and to get it in touch with the experts and independent scientists we work with. We’ve been happy to oblige every time we’ve been asked.

* Hal Doiron and Tom Wysmuller, the correspondents with Dr. Happer in the AP story, are affiliated with The Heartland Institute only as unpaid policy advisors – as are more than 500 other academics and independent policy experts who write for the institute from time to time and participate in peer review of our publications.

* Dr. Happer is trying to bring sound science and policy into a debate that is dominated by ignorance, scare tactics, and propaganda; he is to be thanked and congratulated, not defamed and subject to silly “investigations” like this one;

* The only people who object to our participation in the climate debate are a few high-profile pseudo-scientists such as Michael Mann (“a disgrace to his profession“), #fakenews reporters, and liberal environmental activists.