Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli isn’t happy with UVA’s response to his request for papers and data authored by global warming expert and former UVA professor Michael Mann. After UVA argued that Cuccinelli’s civil investigative demand threatened academic freedom and asked a judge to set aside the AG’s request, Cuccinelli is firing back.
In court documents filed this week, Cuccinelli argues that his demand for documents from Mann should be granted because it does not affect academic freedom, and the First Amendment is not a shield against fraud investigations.
The Washington Post reports that, in his filings, Cuccinelli’s lawyers reject the assertion made by UVA that the request violates academic freedom. Cuccinelli’s team argues that some of the e-mails leaked in the now infamous Climategate made reference to a "trick" Mann used in his research.
While UVA asserts that investigators found Mann not guilty of any wrongdoing, Cuccinelli argues that those investigators were not in possession of the documents that he wishes to obtain from UVA.
