On 4 August 2004, an article by Meyer appeared in the peer-reviewed scientific journal, "Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington". On September 7, the publisher of the journal, the Council of the Biological Society of Washington, released a statement retracting the article as not having met its scientific standards, and saying that it had been published at the discretion of the former editor, Richard Sternberg, "without review by any associate editor". Critics believe that Sternberg's personal and ideological connections to Meyer suggest at least the appearance of conflict of interest in allowing Meyer's paper to be published.