President of Soros-Funded Group Admits Lying to Acquire Heartland Climate Documents

Head of the George Soros-funded Pacific Institute admitted to releasing documents from the Heartland Institute that he falsely obtained. The group’s sleazy attack was then promoted by liberal bloggers and quickly gained steam. The story was picked up by the New York Times, Politico and other media outlets.

Pacific Institute, the group that lied in order to obtain the documents, received $275,000 from Soros’s Open Society Foundations since 2006. This vicious attack by the left resulted in the release of information on the Heartland Institute’s fundraising strategy, budget, and plans to combat global warming alarmism.

Peter Gleick, president of the Soros-funded Pacific Institute, admitted to releasing the documents himself and offered his apologies. Gleick cited his frustration with the “ongoing efforts -- often anonymous, well-funded, and coordinated -- to attack climate science and scientists and prevent this debate, and by the lack of transparency of the organizations involved.” Ironic since his group is part of the liberal Soros-funded web which promotes climate alarmism and other liberal causes.

The Heartland Institute’s president Joseph L. Bast said in a statement that "Gleick's crime was a serious one” and the documents he stole included personal information and put his staff in danger. Bast added that “a forged memo purporting to set out our strategies on global warming” has been cited by the media and damaged the group’s reputation.

The New York Times embraced the stolen documents after they were promoted by the liberal blogosphere. Politico reported that the left-leaning DeSmogBlog and Climate Progress were among the first sites to publish the materials on Feb. 14. They noted that Climate Progress is affiliated with the Center for American Progress (CAP), but did not point out that CAP received $7.3 million from Soros’s Open Society Foundations.