Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff. Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images
The Democratic head of a powerful House committee is probing reports of White House interference with a State Department analyst's written testimony prepared for a recent hearing on climate change and national security.
Why it matters: Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff's inquiry could disclose new information about White House challenges to widely recognized scientific findings on global warming and its effects.
Driving the news: Schiff, in a new letter to State's Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), asks for a suite of documents and communications about preparation of State analyst Rod Schoonover's submission for the June 5 hearing.
The letter says he has "profound concerns" about efforts to "suppress" independent analysis.
Schiff is sending a similar letter to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, his office said.
Context: According to reports last week in the Washington Post and the New York Times, White House aides sought to heavily edit and cut the testimony.
The White House ultimately never cleared the testimony for submission after State resisted the changes and it was not sent to the committee for entry into the official record, both papers reported. However, Schoonover testified orally at the June 5 hearing.
What they're saying: "These reports raise profound concerns that White House officials abused the interagency process in an effort to manipulate, remove, and ultimately suppress the independent, objective analysis State INR planned to present before the Committee on a matter of national urgency," Schiff's letter states.
The White House did not provide immediate comment Tuesday.