Republicans accused of witch-hunt against climate-change scientists.

Some of America's leading scientists have accused Republican politicians of intimidating climate-change experts by placing them under unprecedented scrutiny. A far-reaching inquiry into the careers of three of the U.S.'s most senior climate specialists has been launched by Joe Barton, chairman of the House of Representatives committee on energy and commerce. He has demanded details of all their sources of funding, methods, and everything they have ever published. The inquiry has sent shockwaves through the U.S. scientific establishment, already under pressure from the Bush administration, which links funding to policy objectives.