“UVA to supply Mann emails/documents but you can’t look (yet)“ (May 25th, 2011). Anthony Watts’s friends at scientific cornerstone the American Tradition Institute have won their Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) legal battle against Dr. Mann and the University of Virginia! They’re going to get everything Dr. Mann, or anyone that even knew him, ever wrote while at the University of Virginia! It will be full of instructions on how to fake global warming evidence! Also Anthony now knows what in camera means.
Chris Horner from the Competitive Enterprise Institute (American Tradition Institute is just one of many sock-puppets) gloats about his FOIA demands:
“In short, the University was forced to part ways from supporting the PFAW/ACLU/AAAS/AAUP demands [damn commie libruls all of them!] and Mann’s interests, and start working to make itself look less bad to a court.” and “we get it all“. (emphasis mine)
Actually, no. But I suppose this is as close to scientific victory as the denialists will ever get.
The material in question is sealed and the only documents that will be unsealed is the fraction that is confirmed to contain correspondence relevant to specific research supported by public grant money. The unrelated material that Horner wanted to sweep up and snoop through will presumably remain excluded.
Chris Horner’s maneuverings are a partisan continuation of the frankly outrageous legal assault on Dr. Mann by the Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, built on the flimsy excuse that state funds may have somehow been misused. The University of Virginia’s position on these sweeping FOIA demands has always been that correspondence not directly connected to a legitimate FOIA would not be provided.
Funny how denialists and libertarians consider anything to do with themselves inviolably private but anything to do with their targets unquestionably public domain. People who receive work for government are apparently right-less slaves.
When this tactic first came up many denialists were uncomfortable with the invasion of privacy aspects, but they seem fine with it now. Steve McIntyre, the Great Auditor, was against it, but now he’s for it. Even Anthony himself was once merely tepid on this tactic. I guess principle is failing to overrule expediency.
Wott's Up With That? 
The climate change skeptic movement is hopelessly addicted to emails and is willing to do anything to score another fix. Just one more, you know they’re good for it.
One of the reasons some deniers were initially against this because they correctly saw this for what it is: a witch hunt. But they’ve been burned recently by matters like the BEST project that they’re now reduced to, well, hunting witches so they can burn someone in return.
Expect the usual carbon pollution denial propaganda thunder and lightening snow conspiracy storm in a tea cup, ASAP.
Later, watch the the sad little vegetables turn around to burn the witch-burning attorney general with their own special denial brand of snide back-stabbing blog churnalism snake oil for failing to deliver the imaginary goods in 10,9,8……. seconds!