Ben Raines of the Alabama Press Register is reporting that BP is trying to hire scientists who are doing research in the oil-damaged Gulf of Mexico and then binding those scientists with legal agreements that will enable BP to bury their work and prevent them from testifying against the company.

Cary Nelson, national president of the American Association of University Professors, has a good commentary about the matter here, condemning BP’s effort at censorship and calling for universities to work with their faculties to establish ethical standards for industry collaboration that champion the public interest and discourage faculty members from selling their freedom of speech and research to the highest bidder.