US Attorney Demands CHEST Assurance of “Viewpoint Diversity”

NBC News is reporting on a Facebook posting of a letter from the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia to the editor of CHEST. The letter implies that the medical journal was partisan and asks a series of questions about how the publication protects the public from misinformation; whether it included competing viewpoints; and whether CHEST was influenced by funders or advertisers (1). The letter from acting U.S. Attorney Ed Martin states, “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”.  Martin goes on to state that “you [CHEST] have certain responsibilities”

The letter was originally posted on X by Dr. Eric Reinhart, a clinician based at Northwestern. Reinhart described the letter as designed to “intimidate” and called it “fascist tactics.” The letter caught the attention of First Amendment groups raising concerns about suppression and some scientists, as well as Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a nonprofit civil liberties group which has been critical of Martin. The letter raises concerns of the Department of Justice harassment being used to suppress academic and scientific freedom. ”It’s really unusual when you see a U.S. Attorney from the Distinct of Columbia sending a letter to a publication based in Illinois inquiring about their editorial practices, in particular, a journal from a medical organization,” said JT Morris, a senior supervising attorney for the FIRE (1). “That screams of a government official going after a publication because it disagrees with what the publication is saying.”

The editors of the SWJPCCS listed below condemn actions designed to harass and intimidate  scientific journals. The SWJPCCS supports CHEST’s editors in making scientific editorial decisions for their journal. If those with a differing viewpoint have legitimate scientific data, not opinion, supporting an alternative viewpoint, let them submit it to the appropriate medical journal. If they choose to submit to the SWJPCCS, we will provide an unbiased scientific review and an appropriate editorial decision will be made. Scientific journals do have a responsibility to publish legitimate scientific data and to protect the public from non-data-based opinions that might lead to potential patient harm.

Janet Campion MD

Bhargavi Gali MD

Brooks T. Kuhn MD

Manoj Mathew MD

Michael Peterson MD

Stuart F. Quan MD

Richard A. Robbins MD

George Su MD

Angela Wang MD

Carolyn Welsh MD

Lewis J. Wesselius MD

Editors of the SWJPCCS*

References

1. Bush E. U.S. attorney demands scientific journal explain how it ensures 'viewpoint diversity'. NBC News. April 18, 2025. Available at: https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/us-attorney-demands-scientific-journal-explain-ensures-viewpoint-diver-rcna201929 (accessed 4/23/25).

*The opinions expressed are those of the editors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of their parent institutions or the American Thoracic Society and its chapters.

Cite as: Campion J, Gali B, Kuhn BT, Mathew M, Peterson M, Quan SF, Robbins RA, Su G, Wang A, Welsh C. US Attorney Demands CHEST Assurance of “Viewpoint Diversity”. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care Sleep. 2025;30(4):44-45. doi: https://doi.org/10.13175/swjpccs012-25 PDF