US Prosecutor Sends Letter to Medical Journal, Alleging Bias

U.S. Attorney Edward Martin sent the letter to CHEST.

Edward Martin speaks at an event in Washington on June 13, 2023. Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/AP Photo

A federal prosecutor has sent a letter to a medical journal asking how it chooses articles, the journal’s publishers have confirmed.

“The American College of Chest Physicians, publishers of the journal CHEST, can confirm that we received a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice, and its content was posted online without our knowledge,” a spokeswoman for the college told The Epoch Times in an email on April 21.

“Legal counsel is currently reviewing the DOJ request. Beyond our statement, we have no additional comment at this time.”

The missive, dated April 14, came from Edward Martin, the interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.

Martin said that it has been brought to his attention that journals “are conceding that they are partisans in various scientific debates—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).”

He asked Dr. Peter Mazzone, editor-in-chief of CHEST, to answer five questions, including whether the journal accepts articles or essays of competing viewpoints.

“I am also interested to know if publishers, journals, and organizations with which you work are adjusting their method of acceptance of competing viewpoints,” Martin wrote. “Are there new norms being developed and offered?”

He asked for a response by May 2.

Martin’s office did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.

The American College of Chest Physicians said in a statement on its website that CHEST, throughout its 90-year history, “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 college also said that the journal complies with ethical guidelines and that it respects the journal’s editorial independence.

It’s not clear whether similar letters were sent to any other journals. A spokesperson for PLOS, a nonprofit publisher of open-access science journals, told The Epoch Times in an email that it has not received one. Other journals did not return inquiries.

Several free speech groups decried the letter, including the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.

“The First Amendment couldn’t be clearer: A publication’s editorial decisions are none of the government’s business. Newspaper, blog, medical journal—it doesn’t matter. Back off,” the organization said in a statement on social media platform X on April 18.

“When a U.S. Attorney wields the power of his office to target medical journals over their content, he isn’t doing his job, let alone upholding his constitutional oath. He’s abusing his authority to try to chill protected speech.”