It isn’t, though. That’s a dishonest argument. There are myriad cases of the media (incl. NYT) or the general public misinterpreting findings, usually by way of generalisation or misattributed cause. I empathise with any specialist with this much public attention on them, because everywhere you turn there’s a bone-headed journalist willing to either by way of malice or ignorance misrepresent your findings.
I’m not a US resident and have the privilege of being able to care very little about what US government agencies have to say, so I don’t really care in the end, but at least be honest with yourself.
Data is just data and should be open to inspection. Why wouldn't they release the data with their own interpretation and caveats? My guess is the data is too conclusive to misinterpret, and it doesn't say what they want it to.
I’m not a US resident and have the privilege of being able to care very little about what US government agencies have to say, so I don’t really care in the end, but at least be honest with yourself.