For some time the main publication of the American Association for the  Advancement of Science, Science Magazine, has effectively banned any papers that  dissent with the global warming orthodoxy.

Apparently there are some alarm bells ringing over at Science's offices. In a breaking news post, they are contemplating criminal liability for the Scientists involved in this scandal.

Antonio Regalado of the Science Blog writes:

The University of East Anglia, whose stolen documents caused a furor of excitement among climate skeptics over the weekend, said today that it had called in police to investigate possible criminal activity.

But university researchers may also find themselves in legal jeopardy if they deleted emails requested under the U.K.'s Freedom of Information (FOIA) legislation, a crime under U.K. law.

The case of the climate hack began last week when an anonymous individual calling himself "FOIA" released hundreds of private emails and documents belonging to East Anglia's influential Climatic Research Unit.

In recent years, the university had been subject to a flurry of information requests from bloggers and others skeptical of man-made global warming demanding to see raw data used to calculate temperatures, as well as for scientific correspondence. The university has rejected most of the requests citing various exemptions to the U.K. public disclosure law, which took effect in 2005.

Frankly, in the wake of Bernie Madoff, I would not like to face criminal fraud charges like these.