That's a real shame. I wonder, exactly, what sort of legal issues there could possibly be, save the threat of a lawsuit.
They could have couched the information as "This is what we think we know, and we're open to more information". Sticking to the facts is a pretty solid legal defense, though it's no guarantee that you won't be sued anyway.
Frankly, their endorsement of the HA phaser without backing it up was odd, considering the quality of their content, but I was (and still am) willing to have my mind changed. Even if they don't endorse it, at least having the information about the other phasers was quite valuable.
Everyone can be wrong, new facts can come up, and much can be forgiven and understood. I get that they might not want to be associated with something as controversial as the HA phaser, I get that. Maybe there are internal squabbles, or they don't want their identities revealed through a lawsuit, I don't know. The wholesale removal of everything regarding phasers sounds like something else is going on.