Attorney General Responds to UVa.’s Petition in Tussle Over Documents

In a court filing this week, Virginia’s attorney general argues that his demands for documents from the University of Virginia related to the work of a prominent climate scientist who formerly taught there should be granted because neither academic freedom nor the First Amendment “immunizes” a person from a fraud investigation, The Washington Post reported. The attorney general, Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, says he is investigating whether the scientist, Michael E. Mann, knowingly used inaccurate data in grant applications, but some academics see the inquiry as a political attack on climate-change research. The university had petitioned a state judge to quash Mr. Cuccinelli’s request, arguing that turning over the documents would violate Mr. Mann’s academic freedom. The response filed by Mr. Cuccinelli’s office on Tuesday states that “academic freedom is neither implicated nor threatened” by the investigation. The judge will receive full legal briefs from each side and may hear oral arguments before ruling.