From T. Bogg: Dr. Michael Mann, Professor of Meteorology with Joint Appointment with the Department of Geosciences and Director, Earth System Science Center, at Penn State University, has filed suit against NRO, and writers Mark Steyn and Rand Stimberg for their statements regarding him and his research, in particular but not limited to comparing him to child molester Jerry Sandusky:
Remember back in August when NRO’s Mark Steyn wrote a post at The Corner where he called Penn State climate scientist Michael Mann’s work “Fraudulent” and then, riffing off of a Rand Simberg (remember when Simberg almost used to be “a thing” as a blogger?) post, Steyn added this:
If an institution is prepared to cover up systemic statutory rape of minors, what won’t it cover up? Whether or not he’s “the Jerry Sandusky of climate change”, he remains the Michael Mann of climate change, in part because his “investigation” by a deeply corrupt administration was a joke.
Mann threatened to sue and demanded a retraction and apology. The response from Rich Lowrey was seemingly written without the advice of someone who knows how to write something.
In common polemical usage, “fraudulent” doesn’t mean honest-to-goodness criminal fraud. It means intellectually bogus and wrong. I consider Mann’s prospective lawsuit fraudulent. Uh-oh. I guess he now has another reason to sue us.
Usually, you don’t welcome a nuisance lawsuit, because it’s a nuisance. It consumes time. It costs money. But this is a different matter in light of one word: discovery.
If Mann sues us, the materials we will need to mount a full defense will be extremely wide-ranging. So if he files a complaint, we will be doing more than fighting a nuisance lawsuit; we will be embarking on a journalistic project of great interest to us and our readers.
Oops. He did.
The complaint is contained in this PDF.
Now the defendants are squealing for contributions. I'd be willing to give them my two cents worth.