(Received via email direct from Heartland president Bast in advance of their website posting, see Gleick’s statement/confession here – Anthony)
FEBRUARY 20, 2012: Earlier this evening, Peter Gleick, a prominent figure in the global warming movement, confessed to stealing electronic documents from The Heartland Institute in an attempt to discredit and embarrass a group that disagrees with his views.
Gleick’s crime was a serious one. The documents he admits stealing contained personal information about Heartland staff members, donors, and allies, the release of which has violated their privacy and endangered their personal safety.
An additional document Gleick represented as coming from The Heartland Institute, a forged memo purporting to set out our strategies on global warming, has been extensively cited by newspapers and in news releases and articles posted on Web sites and blogs around the world. It has caused major and permanent damage to the reputations of The Heartland Institute and many of the scientists, policy experts, and organizations we work with.
A mere apology is not enough to undo the damage.
In his statement, Gleick claims he committed this crime because he believed The Heartland Institute was preventing a “rational debate” from taking place over global warming. This is unbelievable. Heartland has repeatedly asked for real debate on this important topic. Gleick himself was specifically invited to attend a Heartland event to debate global warming just days before he stole the documents. He turned down the invitation.
Gleick also claims he did not write the forged memo, but only stole the documents to confirm the content of the memo he received from an anonymous source. This too is unbelievable. Many independent commentators already have concluded the memo was most likely written by Gleick.
We hope Gleick will make a more complete confession in the next few days.
We are consulting with legal counsel to determine our next steps and plan to release a more complete statement about the situation tomorrow. In the meantime, we ask again that publishers, bloggers, and Web site hosts take the stolen and fraudulent documents off their sites, remove defamatory commentary based on them, and issue retractions.
# # #
For more information, contact Jim Lakely, communications director of The Heartland Institute, at 312/377-4000 or jlakely@heartland.org.
Joseph Bast
President
The Heartland Institute
One South Wacker Drive #2740
Chicago, IL 60606
Phone 312/377-4000
Email jbast “at”heartland.org
Web site http://www.heartland.org
Support The Heartland Institute today!
Not just retractions: Money. Seriously, every MSM outlet has gleefully lept to stab their little knives into Heartland’s back, and they need to pay for that rash, rushed overtly political decision. NPR, WashPo, NYTimes, etc. Hang em all. Spend every nickel won from Gleek to sue the real bastards.
Sad and pathetic state of affairs.
Everyone should email AGU and ask if Gleick REALLY is the Chair of their ethics department. 🙂
And how short was the release time when this stuff went from his hands to Desmogblog & ThinkProgress? We probably have larger problems to look into besides one guy falling on his sword….
[snip over the top -Anthony]
In a discerning world, a fraudulent email would put the nail in the coffin. I wonder, though, how much effort is underway to say this is like “Climategate.” They stole our emails, and they warped them to make us look bad. Then it seems like the same thing.
I’m wondering if I believe him now. Is this a red herring?
Sung to the tune of
Una Paloma Blanca
When Global Warming
starts to cave in,
and solar power fails to work,
The warmist liars, try a new way,
Dr Peter Gleick’s a jerk.
He stole some papers,
From the Heartland
and caused a ruckus
in the news….
In a panic,
he’s admitting
The greens are
liars too.
Chorus:
Documents were Stolen,
Peter Gleick is a thief,
Documents were faked,
The LA Times is a rag,
Gleick tried to make,
His Crime seem okay.
At the bottom of the above linked page one will find:
This would be a good moment to offer comments, suggestions or feedback for the task force! GK
‘wheresmyak47 says:
February 20, 2012 at 8:46 pm
Wheres the apology and admission from the email hacker!
The moron Watts and his disciples display more hypocrasy than I care to swallow.’
But you do care to swallow a hell of a lot of AGW cool aid. You’re not a vet, not a cop, not a hunter. Probably disqualified from holding a shooters license. Only girls would use that handle mate.
edbarbar says:
February 20, 2012 at 8:59 pm
“In a discerning world, a fraudulent email would put the nail in the coffin. I wonder, though, how much effort is underway to say this is like “Climategate.” They stole our emails, and they warped them to make us look bad. Then it seems like the same thing.”
Does anyone still believe Dan Rather?
What has to be emphasized is that at a) Heartland is transparent about their ( our as you have many with yout ) mission to disprove this AGW through debate and fact. There is nothing sinister or hidden about the intention. We are right, we know it and the day of their reckoning is upon them as the global temp responds to natural cycles. b) THIS IS PRIVATELY FUNDED, It is not a government funded gravy train. Its resources are limited and goes to show how fact is on our side as it stands so strongly with so little, against what is mountain of public funds trying to shove an agenda down our throats. As the globe cools, make sure these facts stay hot.
Its my hope that this will draw attention to the fact that there are Good men who are doing something..standing for truth in this matter. As gas prices rise because of the handcuffs these people have put on our nation over a scam, as more jobs get shipped overseas, as more regulations are enacted that kill hopes and dreams of people seeking to better themselves in what is supposed to be a free society, let us hope that this is a key that will unlock the chains the AGW crowd has enslaved us with.
If that is the case, then there is good that will come out of this
Sorry Anthony,too much old west in my background..
“I can understand the desire to limit dissemination of the offending documents at “unfriendly locations”, however open discussion of the documents at selective locations i.e. WUWT is useful and productive. After all, Mosh figured it out by reading them, eh?”
I do not know US law but this would be what one might expect preparatory to suing for defamation as Heartland is probably under a duty to try to limit (mitigate) the damage and sue for the remaining damage done.
Apologies Mr Watts, ‘wheresmyak47’ is an escaped troll from Andrew Bolt’s blog in Oz.
Letting it near a computer unsupervised is like giving machine gun to a monkey.
You are safe. It just spews vile green invective.
Confessing on Washington’s Birthday…
“Yes, I did it, but it wasn’t my axe.”
to Jeff
Re: “Repeatedly asking that the documents be taken down is a waste of breathe”
They aren’t expecting them to disappear. This is a test of integrity for news outlets and blogs. Nothing more.
Paraphrasing:
I am now telling the truth….I WAS a thief
But now I am not a liar any more, or a forger…
And it was the journalists who spread the lie, not me,
Stay tuned future statements proclaiming superior ethics…
Peter Gleick chairs a committee at AGU:
http://www.agu.org/about/governance/committees_boards/scientific_ethics.shtml
Wonder what his recommendation for this committee charge will be?
“Propose sanctions for those who violate AGU’s ethical principles, and..”
Might want to make some suggestions to the Executive Director, Christine W. McEntee:
Agu_execdirector@agu.org
How about no longer chairing the committee on scientific ethics?
Fox guarding the hen house…
Don’t think for one second this is over – back to the barricades!
Just a little perspective here – gloating is ugly no matter who does it. Peter will undoubtedly get his day in court, where justice (or at least the law) will be served one way or another.
Joe Bastardi says:
…..
Well said Joe – I also hope this is the tipping point!
I sense an impeding need for the discovery of another couple of lead mines judging by the increased amount of lead being sprayed around from people accidentally shooting their feet rather than their usual sceptical targets.
If any warmist were in doubt as to the difference between failgate and climategate this should help clear it up.
Chuck Johnson.
Lots of silliness in the Guardian account, but one very interesting piece of news. If it is true that Gleick has retained Chris Lehane (a notorious political mudslinger and combatant) then it is indeed going “nuclear” in terms of the ways in which Gleick et al will fight in the PR and media space:
“In a sign of combat to come, Gleick has taken on a top Democratic operative and crisis manager, Chris Lehane. Lehane, who worked in the Clinton White House is credited for exposing the rightwing forces arrayed against the Democratic president. He was Al Gore’s press secretary during his 2000 run for the White House.”
“As one environmental campaigner said: “Now it’s gone nuclear.””
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/feb/21/peter-gleick-admits-leaked-heartland-institute-documents?INTCMP=SRCH