Trump’s DOJ Sends Intimidating Letters to Medical Journals for Supposedly Being ‘Partisan’

By Matt Novak

The U.S. Department of Justice has sent letters to medical journals for supposedly being “partisan,” heavily suggesting that they’re spreading misinformation and are influenced by “funders” rather than medical science. Gizmodo has confirmed that the journal CHEST, a peer-reviewed publication on pulmonary care published by the American College of Chest Physicians, received a letter this week. And MedPage Today reports that at least two other journals have received similar intimidating letters.

“It has been brought to my attention that more and more journals and publications like CHEST Journal are conceding that they are partisans in various scientific debates,” the letter from Martin explains, “that is, that they have a position for which they are advocating either due to advertisement (under postal code) or sponsorship (under relevant fraud regulations). The public has certain expectations and you have certain responsibilities.”

The letter then goes on to list several questions, none of which are the purview of the U.S. Department of Justice, given the free speech protections afforded by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution:

• How do you assess your responsibilities to protect the public from misinformation?
• How do you clearly articulate to the public when you have certain viewpoints that are
  influenced by your ongoing relations with supporters, funders, advertisers, and others?
• Do you accept articles or essays from competing viewpoints?
• How do you assess the role played by government officials and funding organizations like the
  National Institutes of Health in the development of submitted articles?
• How do you handle allegations that authors of works in your journals may have misled their
  readers?

The letter went on to say, “I am also interested to know if publishers, journals, and organizations with which you work are adjusting their method of acceptance of competing viewpoints. Are there new norms being developed and offered?” while ending with a request for a response by May 2.

Reached for comment over email, a spokesperson for CHEST confirmed the letter’s authenticity, while noting, “its content was posted online without our knowledge.” The journal also posted a public statement online Friday affirming its editorial standards but didn’t address the DOJ letter specifically.

“In its 90-year history, CHEST has published numerous articles that were breakthroughs in scientific research and clinical treatment, advancing the medical profession and improving the health and well-being of patients worldwide,” the journal said in a statement published online Friday.

The journal went on to stress the editorial standards the publication adheres to, including the ICMJE and COPE guidelines.

“CHEST adheres to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICJME) and the COPE ethical guidelines for scholarly publishing, applying strict peer review standards to ensure scientific rigor,” the statement continued. “As the publisher, the American College of Chest Physicians respects and supports the journal’s editorial independence.”

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