The University of Virginia has asked the Albemarle County Circuit Court to set aside a new petition from Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli seeking documents related to climate-change research by former U.Va. professor Michael Mann.
The court in August had denied a similar request from Cuccinelli, who claims Mann work on climate change constituted a fraud because it was based on dubious research. Cuccinelli, who disputes the theory that humans are causing global warming, rewrote his request to overcome the previous objections raised by the court.
Cuccinelli is making the demands under the state’s Fraud Against Taxpayers’ Act on the grounds that Mann, now at Penn State University, knowingly used flawed research to acquire a state research grant.
Lawyers for U.Va. said in their court filings that Cuccinelli’s latest demand “constitutes an unprecedented and improper governmental intrusion into ongoing scientific research.”
Penn State conducted a four-month investigation of Mann’s research and concluded there was no misconduct.
Cuccinelli has also appealed the August ruling to Virginia’s Supreme Court. In a separate filing, UVa. has asked Albemarle County to put the petition on hold pending the appeal.
