When Does 1,400 Media Interviews = Muzzled?

When you’re a NASA scientist who has repeatedly ignored policies you agreed to upon employment with said agency and you’d like to gain more headlines by claiming you’ve been muzzled.

The name James Hansen was splashed across headlines worldwide last month when he claimed to have been muzzled by the Bush administration. After being denied the opportunity to complete an interview with NPR (such limitations are apparently standard practice by NASA) Hansen claimed the Bush administration was attempting to silence his alarmist viewpoint. But upon questioning yesterday in Washington DC, it was revealed that the NASA employee had already completed over a thousand media interviews prior to the NPR request (emphasis mine throughout):

But Republicans told him the hundreds of other interviews he did belie his broad claim he was being silenced.

“We have over 1,400 opportunities that you’ve availed yourself to, and yet you call it, you know, being stifled,” said Rep. Darrell Issa, California Republican.

And furthermore, Hansen had already violated NASA policy by failing to inform his employer of such interviews:

Mr. Deutsch, who was 23 at the time, said Mr. Hansen was prohibited from doing the interview because of his prior refusal to notify NASA officials when he was granting interviews, not for political reasons.

Citing what he called his “constitutional right” to give interviews, Mr. Hansen admitted violating NASA’s press policy but defended his actions.

And following the “muzzling” by the Bush administration, somehow Hansen did more than a dozen more interviews:

Citing what he called a “growth of political interference,” Mr. Hansen said he was forced by NASA officials to deny an interview request from NPR because press officials believed the network to have a liberal bias.

But Mr. Issa noted that Mr. Hansen conducted 15 interviews in the month after accusing the Bush administration of censorship.

Another minor detail that was no where to be found in earlier revelations about this scientist:

Mr. Hansen received a $250,000 grant from the Heinz foundation, which is controlled by Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of Sen. John Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat. Mr. Hansen was a vocal supporter of Mr. Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign.

How many media outlets that pushed this “censorship” story will cover this revealing follow-up?

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