[kazinator]

Plenty of academics (and others) bite the hand that feeds them: they take their money from exactly those whom they criticize.

This is in fact necessary for academic freedom. Just because you fund something at some university doesn't mean you get to dictate everyone's public expression there, as if that institution were a corporate subsidiary.

However, in practice, those who are close to some particular project involving an outside agency probably face repercussions if they express criticism of that agency.