Francis J. Beckwith - Hunter Baker / National Review Online Controversy

Hunter Baker / National Review Online Controversy

In 2004 the Harvard Law Review published a review by Lawrence VanDyke, a Harvard Law student, praising a book written by Beckwith that defended the teaching of intelligent design in schools. In response to a scathing review of VanDyke's review by professor of law and philosophy Brian Leiter, the National Review Online published a response to Leiter written by Hunter Baker defending Beckwith and alleging Leiter was "attacking" both a student writer and "academic freedom." Baker's article was republished by the Discovery Institute.

Leiter revealed that Hunter Baker was Beckwith's teaching assistant when he wrote the defense of Beckwith for the National Review, something both Beckwith and Hunter did not disclose. This prompted Leiter to question the journalistic integrity of Baker and to describe such tactics as "fraud" and a "right-wing slime and smear job."

During the controversy over Beckwith's tenure Hunter Baker went on to write another National Review article arguing that the denial of tenure was an attack on academic freedom, again without disclosing his relationship to Beckwith.

Kevin Drum of the Washington Monthly reported in the magazine's weblog that this controversy led to the creation of the blog the Panda's Thumb, which has become one of the most notable fora for critics of intelligent design; however, Ed Brayton of the Panda's Thumb stated that the timing was a coincidence.