Meet the One, And Only, EPA Global Warming Whistle Blower
Jul 31, 2020187.6K Shares2.8M Views
The Washington Post this morninglooks at Jason Burnett, the former Environmental Protection Agency official who yesterday said that Dick Cheney’s office manipulated Congressional testimony to play down the danger of greenhouse gas emissions. For die-hard fans of Henry A. Waxman’s House oversight committee Burnett’s name is familiar: he told the committee in Maythat the White House improperly interfered in denying California a waiver to regulate greenhouse gases.
Burnett is the lone EPA official to come forward about the California decision, sitting for an interview with the committee which was transcribed. But yesterday he took on a more high-profile role, appearing at a news conference with Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), the chairman of the Senate environment committee. Burnett reasserted what he said in a letter to Boxer’s committee: that Cheney’s staff altered the testimony of Centers for Disease Control Director Julie L. Gerberding. And in doing so, the White House was trying to prevent regulation of greenhouse gas emissions.
Two weeks ago, Burnett was also in the news for saying the White House simply ignoredan email the EPA sent detailing the danger posed by greenhouse gas emissions.
With such serious allegations, it’s no surprise that Burnett himself is starting to receive scrutiny. The Post article mentions that he’s a heavy contributor to Democratic candidates, including Barack Obama, though his credibility was not called into question.
Will Burnett’s revelation prompt his former colleagues to publicly back him up? Or will he continue to be the lone EPA whistleblower?
Rhyley Carney
Reviewer
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