Conversation so far:
What types of things was Linus Pauling criticized for?
peace activism, his frequent travels, and his enthusiastic expansion into chemical-biomedical research all aroused opposition at Caltech.
Who opposed his works?
scientists who appreciated the contributions that he had made in chemistry, disagreed with his political positions and saw him as a naive spokesman for Soviet communism.
What political positions made him unpopular?
Pauling was referred to not only as a collaborator, but as a "fellow traveler" of proponents of Soviet-style communism.
Is there anything else unique about his political beliefs?
In 1960 he was ordered to appear before the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee.
Were there any consequences for him?
Pauling sued the magazine, its publisher William Rusher, and its editor William F.
Buckley, Jr for $1 million.
He lost both his libel suits and the 1968 appeal.

Question: Why did he sue a magazine for libel? What did they say about him?
Self-contained rewrite: Why did Linus Pauling sue a magazine for libel?