Michael Halpern

Michael Halpern is deputy director of the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) who campaigns against freedom of information laws (FOIA). In 2015, Halpern began working to weaken FOIA laws with the release of a report titled, “Freedom to Bully: How Laws Intended to Free Information Are Used to Harass Researchers.” Journalists Paul Thacker and Charles Seife wrote a commentary in PLOS criticizing the Union of Concerned Scientists “campaign to blunt the tools with which the public can investigate claims of scientific malfeasance.” Their article reported that U.S. Right to Know had filed a FOIA on several scientists working with the biotech industry, including Kevin Folta, and that UCS called the request “inappropriate” even though emails showed Folta working in support of the agrichemical industry. The reporters also wrote that several media outlets, including the NPR, The Washington Post, and the Associated Press, had opposed UCS attempts to limit the public’s access to academics’ emails.

PLOS retracted the piece on the same day that Thacker and Seife wrote a similar opinion in the Los Angeles Times. The reporters state that they stand behind the PLOS piece and retained a copy for the web. In the Los Angeles Times, they wrote that U.S. Right to Know had uncovered emails that “revealed Kevin Folta had some of his expenses picked up by Monsanto, despite claiming that he had ‘nothing to do’ with the company.”

Weeks afterwards, the New York Times wrote a front-page story exposing Kevin Folta and his work with Monsanto Paul Thacker then wrote an op-ed for the New York Times commenting on the retraction and the Union of Concerned Scientist's push against transparency.

In 2016, the Boston Globe wrote that Halpern was leading a campaign to limit disclosures by public scientists that “risks opening loopholes that could make it easier for officials and agencies to hide information from the public.” David Cuillier, director of the University of Arizona School of Journalism and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists’ freedom of information committee criticized UCS and told the Globe, “It’s just gibberish to say these laws stifle research. These are government scientists funded by taxpayers, and the public is entitled to see what they’re working on.”

California AB700

In February 2019, Michael Halpern began promoting a bill in California that would weaken that state’s FOIA law which is called the California Public Records Act (CPRA). The Union of Concerned Scientists has retained California Advisors LLC to lobby in the bill’s support. GM Watch reported that Halpern flew to California to lobby in support of the bill.

The Los Angeles Times published an op-ed stating that AB700 will harm the public’s ability to uncover sexual harassment at public universities. The bill has been opposed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Society of Professional Journalists/Los Angeles chapter, California News Publishers Association, San Diego Society of Professional Journalists, and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. The San Diego Society of Professional Journalists wrote that the bill was "dangerous" and asked reporters to come out in opposition. Nancy Barnes, Senior Vice President of News and Editorial Director at NPR, wrote, “AB 700 would set a dangerous precedent, both in terms of access to information generally and in terms of access to information relating to research at postsecondary educational institutions.” She asked that the legislature oppose the bill.

Attacks on US Right to Know and other Nonprofits

Halpern has made several belittling comments about the work of U.S. Right to Know and their work uncovering corruption in the food industry, and has attempted to draw a distinction between them and the reporters who rely on the documents they uncover.

For example, Halpern has written that U.S. Right to Know sent a FOIA request that was a “hammer” while Eric Lipton with the New York Times used a “scalpel” to uncover the ties between University of Florida professor Kevin Folta and Monsanto. In a sworn deposition, Eric Lipton stated that he relied on documents made public by U.S. Right to Know. GM Watch reported that Halpern has tweeted support for Kevin Folta's claim that releasing his emails was harassment.

Halpern has also attempted to undermine the Sierra Club’s work on the Environmental Protection Agency, criticizing a letter they sent to the Inspector General as too broad. Halpern has no training in law and a former Inspector General of the National Reconnaissance Office and former Acting Deputy Director at the CIA, said that Halpern’s kibitzing on the Sierra Club request was picking an unnecessary fight. “Of course [the IG] can look into false statements made by an agency director. It gets to the core mission of the EPA.”

In June 2019, GM Watch sent a letter to UCS President Ken Kimmell asking that the organization correct false and fabricated information written by Michael Halpern and that UCS provide him with appropriate supervision in the future.