Cuccinelli's Fishing Expedition Gets Skunked, at Least for Now

Back in April, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli used the state's Fraud Against Taxpayers Act (FATA) to command the University of Virginia to hand over mountains of paperwork associated with research performed by climate scientist Dr. Michael Mann who taught at the University from 1999-2005. Mann (currently director of the Earth System Science Center at Penn State) is a high profile climate researcher who is well known for his work on the historical temperature record. He is a strong proponent of the scientific consensus on climate change and has been a controversial figure in the ongoing political debate because his "hockey stick" graph (published in 1999) has been the subject of intense criticism by several members of the community who oppose the scientific consensus.

But controversy and debate are not synonymous with fraud. In my opinion, Cuccinelli's investigation is a politically motivated assault not just on one lone researcher, but on the entire research community itself. As the 500 Virginia academic scientists who signed a letter opposing Cuccinelli's investigation state:

"Science thrives on rigorous debate and a frank exchange of differing ideas and perspectives. The freedom of scientists to openly disagree and discuss critical scientific topics has brought Virginia and the United States prosperity and global leadership in science. Research shows that scientific discovery is held back when government officials harass scientists."

And that's exactly what I believe Cuccinelli is doing - he's harassing Mann and  in the process indirectly intimidating any researcher who is working in a field that might generate debate or political controversy. This is a very bad state of affairs. I agree with the American Association of University Professors, the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression and the ACLU who filed an amicus brief with the court stating:

"...the Attorney General’s approach – investigating a professor on suspicion of fraud simply because his work has sparked political and scientific controversy – could have a grave chilling effect on scholarship and research at universities."

Fortunately on August 30, 2010 a Virginia judge ruled against Cuccinelli saying he had provided no "objective basis to issue a civil investigative demand". In other words, Cuccinelli has been accusing Mann of fraud without ever stating the nature of the alleged fraudulent behavior. That's not the kind of public service want from my attorney general, that's for sure. Which reminds me - I need to see what Washington's attorney general Rob McKenna is doing with regards to climate change these days. I hope he's keeping his nose out of it.

Political shenanigans by grand-standers like Cuccinelli will always be an issue for science. Fortunately, in the long run the truth prevails but rarely without a lot of  hard work by scientists, academics, well informed members of the press and dedicated science amateurs. I wish the judge had been able to put this particularly odious assault on common sense to bed quickly. Unfortunately he left Cuccinelli a bit of wiggle room so he hasn't given up yet and is planning to revamp his demands and try again. Ugh. When does he come up for re-election again?