Mr. McDermott, the Washington Democrat, said foundation officials risked further isolating themselves with such tactics.
Should health officials risk issuing stern warnings that may frighten people?
By putting their names on these documents, officials risk signing away one of the rule of law's last defenses.
"It's unfortunate, and quite frankly it's dangerous," because it could make officials risk averse, Mr. Eastman said, blaming partisan politics.
Now officials risked embarrassment from an even more expensive project: a 911 system upgrade that had already incurred delays, cost overruns and the replacement of a major contractor.
Some members of Congress sought to have the administration clarify whether state officials risked federal criminal prosecution while carrying out their duties under the state laws.
Mr. Holscher, Dr. Lee's lawyer, called any suggestion of wrongdoing false, adding, "even more disappointing is that anonymous government officials risk violating federal criminal law by talking about the investigation".
And Peter J. Hoffmeister, another guard, said that by keeping the show private, museum officials risked sending the message that "they don't want to validate the people who work for them".
American officials risk appearing as if they want him to repeat his performance last December in Beijing, when he took more than 140 Democratic lawmakers to meet with the Chinese president, Hu Jintao, Mr. Curtis said.
Building officials, risk managers, planning and zoning commissions, and fire departments view the monitoring of hazardous gases from a code enforcement rather than compliance perspective.
