Bush man resigns NASA post in scandal

George Deutsch, who told NASA public affairs workers to limit reporters' access to a top climate scientist and ordered the word "theory" be inserted on every mention of the Big Bang, resigned Tuesday, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

The resignation followed Texas A&M University's announcement that Deutsch, although once a student, had not received a degree in journalism as he claimed.

Several NASA scientists and public affairs officials said they had been pressured by Deutsch and other political appointees to limit or slant discussions of topics uncomfortable to the Bush administration.

Last month the information officers revealed they had been instructed to limit NASA climate scientist James Hansen's speaking and interviews concerning global warming.

Hansen told the newspaper Deutsch was only a minor problem and distracts from the broader issue of political control of scientific information.

"On climate, the public has been misinformed and not informed," he told the Times. "The foundation of a democracy is an informed public, which obviously means an honestly informed public. That's the big issue here."

Copyright 2006 by United Press International