Tim Lambert has news that deeply troubles me: The state of Virginia's Republican attorney general, Ken Cuccinelli, has launched a fishing expedition investigation into climate researcher Michael Mann's days at the University of Virginia. The request sounds quite massive, according to the Hook:
Among the documents Cuccinelli demands are any and all emailed or written correspondence between or relating to Mann and more than 40 climate scientists, documents supporting any of five applications for the $484,875 in grants, and evidence of any documents that no longer exist along with proof of why, when, and how they were destroyed or disappeared. The request also appears to cover a six year period. This is clearly another attempt to make fire out of the mere smoke that was ClimateGate. But remember, so far, Mann has been vindicated by his university. In this context, I don't see how one can possibly justify putting scientists through such an extensive and burdensome inquiry. There is obviously strong potential for a chilling effect on their research. I am sure this post will prompt a lot of comments--so, be good.....