Just in Time for Halloween, VA A.G. Cuccinelli Raises His Failed Fraud Investigation From the Dead

[Derechos]

In another disturbing instance of politically-motivated intimidation of climate scientists, last week Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli issued a new civil investigative demand (CID) to the University of Virginia for emails and documents related to Dr. Michael Mann. This follows on an earlier demand issued by Cuccinelli that was fought by the University and rejected by an Albemarle County Circuit Court judge for being unfounded. Cuccinelli's latest demand is a revised version of his first, unsuccessful CID, and attempts to work around the judge's prior ruling.

To anyone that reads Cuccinelli's demand, it looks more like a fishing expedition designed to smear scientists than a real fraud investigation. Cuccinelli demands documents related to 39 people, but many of them are unrelated to Dr. Mann's research grant that is nominally the focus of the investigation.

For example, one of the 39 is Dr. Murari Lal, an Indian glaciologist featured in news reports about an error in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC's) latest report. It is completely unclear how Dr. Lal's work is relevant to an investigation of Dr. Mann's research grant. Notably absent from the list are Dr. Mann's two co-investigators on the research grant in question. Instead, the list reads like a Google search of "climate," "emails," and "IPCC." Cuccinelli casts his net so wide he can't decide whether to ask for information relating to Dr. Vincent GrEy or Dr. Vincent GrAy and instead lists them each separately as targets of his request.

Cuccinelli's broad definition of suspected fraud would make nearly every scientific enterprise subject to a similar investigation. That is the type of behavior one might expect of Renaissance-era inquisitors or Soviet-era commissars, but is not what Americans expect from a state attorney general.

Snip

What is perhaps most appalling is that Republican leaders in Washington are pledging more Cuccinelli-style intimidation tactics, if they take control of the House. For example, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who hopes to chair the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, promises to make it a top priority to further investigate climate scientists.

The right wing assault on science poses a threat to academic freedom and open scientific inquiry. As Chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, I held a hearing in May on the harassment of climate scientists and its chilling effect on the scientific enterprise. All of the witnesses decried attacks that hinder scientific research and the communication of the results to the public. Even Dr. William Happer, whose testimony was highly critical of mainstream climate science, agreed with Rep. Jay Inslee that Attorney General Cuccinelli should "knock it off".

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-ed-markey/just-in-time-for-hallowee_b_754228.html

[FSogol]

1. The only bright side here is that Cucinelli is so laughably inept an attorney that

he'll never get it right. Sadly, our State has to pay for his partisan battles.

[Derechos]

2. He may be inept....

but the danger lies in that he is part of a much broader movement on the right to discredit or even criminalize research that leads to conclusions powerful economic interests don't want the public to know about or accept, much less turn into public policy.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. "our State has to pay"

Oh, I beg to differ. The entity paying for this nonsense is none other than you. Oh, and I'm paying too. His salary is coming directly from my wallet.

Can't ... stop ... screaming.