(Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)
BS BRIEF:
- President Trump has directed federal officials to review the National Academy of Sciences’ role in producing climate-related guidance for federal judges, calling the materials “fraudulent, biased, and misleading.”
- The move follows the earlier withdrawal of a climate science chapter from the Federal Judicial Center’s scientific reference manual after Republican attorneys general argued it unfairly favored one side of climate litigation.
- The dispute extends beyond climate policy, raising broader questions about how courts evaluate scientific evidence and the role outside experts should play in shaping judicial reference materials.
TRUMP ORDERS REVIEW OF NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OVER CLIMATE GUIDANCE FOR JUDGES
President Donald Trump has ordered federal officials to review the conduct of the National Academy of Sciences, accusing the organization of providing climate guidance that he says improperly influenced federal court decisions.
In a Truth Social post Sunday, Trump alleged the academy’s scientific manuals prepared for the federal judiciary contained “fraudulent, biased, and misleading” information and argued they had been used by judges deciding significant climate-related cases.
“The National Academy of Sciences has historically published analytical Scientific Manuals expressly for our Federal Judiciary,” Trump wrote.
He continued:
“The Academy has been run by Radical Left Democrats who, it turns out, published fraudulent, biased, and misleading Manuals on Climate Change.”
Trump also asserted:
“These bogus Manuals were used by Judges to decide massive ‘Climate Change’ Cases, and have created huge losses across our Country.”
The president concluded by directing federal suspension and debarment officials to examine the academy’s conduct, writing:
“Our Nation’s Federal Judges deserve Facts and Science, not Political Fraud and False Science on Climate.”
The dispute centers on the Federal Judicial Center’s Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, a resource developed jointly with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to help federal judges evaluate complex scientific testimony.
The manual’s fourth edition, released late last year, included a new chapter addressing climate science. Earlier this year, however, that chapter was withdrawn after a coalition of Republican state attorneys general argued it reflected bias against fossil fuel interests.
Trump’s announcement did not specify what sanctions or enforcement actions could result from the review, and administration officials have not publicly detailed the scope of the requested examination. Reuters reported it remains unclear what specific conduct federal officials are being asked to investigate.
The issue arrives amid a broader debate over the federal government’s approach to climate policy, scientific advisory bodies and regulatory decision-making, with multiple legal challenges continuing over environmental regulations and the role of climate science in federal policymaking.
DBS WIRE SOURCES:
- Mediaite – “Trump Orders Probe of National Academy of Sciences Over ‘Bogus’ Climate Guidance”
- Reuters – “Trump calls for review related to scientific manual used by judges”
- National Academies – News and Stories
- E&E News – “States urge Trump administration to defund scientific groups over judicial education”
