ATINotes

this is the orig content lost on main node again this file lost 8/14 see text filestaken over by E&E?! why? rats abandoned?huge white space at bottom: last line =American Tradition Partnership Files First 990, Reveals Littleby Viveca Novak on February 21, 2013 11:23 AM  in txt file below that is ati main capt?---see horner2 and schnare=recall that ATI took up foia attack on mann after cooch fail (schenare, horner and local liar newton.)see below=ATI sum
<a href="https://www.whitefishpilot.com/hungryhorsenews/article_97f74377-c37e-5a77-b7d5-076ddc6769e9.html">https://www.whitefishpilot.com/hungryhorsenews/article_97f74377-c37e-5a77-b7d5-076ddc6769e9.html</a>
POLITICAL GROUP ACCUSED AGAIN OF VIOLATING ELECTION LAWSNovember 03, 2012 at 5:20 pm | By RICHARD HANNERS Hungry Horse News
• Boxes of documents turn up in Colorado meth house
• Office of Commissioner of Political Practices broken into
• State judge says he’ll sanction American Tradition Partnership
For the second time in two years, the office of the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices allegedly has found itself in possession of documents linking a “social welfare nonprofit” organization with coordinated efforts to help Montana candidates win election. And this time the story was told on television.
The “social welfare nonprofit” organization, American Tradition Partnership, formerly known as Western Tradition Partnership, has been quite successful in its effort to de-regulate Montana’s campaign finance regulations.
Founded in May 2009 by former Republican U.S. Representative for Montana Ron Marlenee and former Montana legislator John Sinrud, ATP claims to be a “grassroots organization” that promotes responsible natural resource development, private property rights and multiple use of public lands. Sinrud eventually left ATP and moved to the Flathead Valley, where he became the government affairs director for the Northwest Montana Association of Realtors in 2009. He left the NMAR position in March 2012.
ATP’s big victory came on Oct. 18, 2010, when Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Jeffrey Sherlock agreed with ATP that, in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling earlier that year, Montana’s 1912 Corrupt Practices Act was unconstitutional.
Like the Citizens United ruling, Sherlock’s ruling opened up Montana elections to unlimited contributions by corporations so long as the money did not go directly to candidates or was coordinated with candidates’ campaigns.
The Montana Supreme Court’s ruling on Dec. 30, 2011, overturning Sherlock would have allowed the century-old law passed by citizens initiative to remain in effect. The high court’s ruling, however, was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 25 this year.
ATP, led by Indiana attorney James Bopp, who also worked on the Citizens United case, continued to see success in fighting Montana election regulations, most recently with U.S. District Court Judge Charles Lovell’s Oct. 3 ruling that Montana laws limiting campaign contributions are unconstitutional.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed Lovell’s ruling through the 2012 general election. Meanwhile ATP is continuing to fight Montana and the Commissioner of Political Practices over other election regulations — including requirements to disclose the sources of funding for political advertising. But the first blow came from the state.
The 2008 and 2010 elections
Three days after Sherlock’s ruling, then Commissioner of Political Practices Dennis Unsworth issued a 43-page statement charging ATP and the Coalition For Energy and Environment with violating the state’s campaign finance laws on numerous occasions.
Unsworth’s allegations followed a two-year investigation into ATP’s activities in 19 Montana legislative races in 2008, including the House District 3 race in which Mick Holm, D-Columbia Falls, lost to Dee Brown, R-Coram, and the House District 8 race in which Cheryl Steenson, D-Kalispell, defeated Craig Witte, R-Kalispell.
Important information in that investigation came from former Lewis and Clark County Commissioner Karolin Loendorf, who started working with ATP on Jan. 7, 2009. She told Unsworth that she understood her job was to get individuals elected to public office. She said she resigned on Feb. 15, 2009, because of the “underhanded things” she claimed were going on at ATP.
Among the documents Unsworth uncovered was a PowerPoint presentation called “WTP 2010 Election Year Program Executive Briefing” that Unsworth said “appears to be targeted to Montana donors.” The program called for spending $77,000 on primary races, $460,000 in the general election, and $8.2 million on 15 U.S. Senate races and 30 U.S. House races.
Potential donors were encouraged by PowerPoint slogans like “Corporate contributions allowed,” “No contributions limit” and “It’s confidential.” Notes stated “There’s no limit to how much you can give,” “Finally, we’re not required to report the name or the amount of any contribution we receive,” and “You can just sit back on election night and see what a difference you’ve made.”
Unsworth claimed that ATP tried to hide some expenditures by attributing them to the Coalition For Energy and Environment, but he doubted the front group had the financial means to create and mail out “thousands of slick, oversize, full-color, glossy, professionally designed and printed campaign flyers.”
All of this activity took place before the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United case, and by coordinating donors with plans to target candidates, and by offering to hide the names of donors, ATP had run afoul of Montana election law.
ATP continued its work in the 2010 election. Locally, it mailed a 6-by-10-inch glossy flyer accusing Whitefish Democrat Will Hammerquist of making “plans to raid school funds” and trying to “create Montana’s own version of Obama’s failed ‘stimulus’.” Hammerquist eventually lost the 2010 race for House District 4 to Kalispell Republican Derek Skees.
ATP also mailed a newsletter to Whitefish area residents signed by the group’s executive director Donald Ferguson claiming Hammerquist “flatly refused” to “repudiate his past support for radical greens.” On the other hand, Ferguson said, “Republican Derek Skees has pledged 100 percent support for high-paying jobs and affordable energy for Montana.”
On Nov. 24, 2010, ATP and Montana Citizens For Right To Work filed a 58-page complaint against Unsworth, Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock and two county attorneys claiming Montana’s election statutes were unconstitutional because they were “impermissibly vague and overbroad” and infringed on free speech rights.
The plaintiffs cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Citizens United case that “independent expenditures and the corporate form pose no threat to the electoral process.” They went on to argue that Unsworth’s labeling of ATP as a “political committee” placed an “onerous burden” on people who wanted to advocate a political opinion.
The Colorado connection
The office of the Commissioner of Political Practices’ case against ATP for its activities in the 2008 and 2010 elections at one point appeared to be heading for settlement. Investigators said they had abundant evidence that the Coalition For Energy and Environment was a sham front group for ATP, but “sufficient evidence has not been disclosed to establish coordination between WTP/CEE and any candidate.” They concluded that henceforth, “Concern and healthy skepticism is warranted.”
Then, about five months later, the state office received several boxes of documents from Colorado. A convicted felon named Mark Siebel had discovered them in late 2010 in a house near Denver used by methamphetamine users. Siebel said a friend found the boxes in a stolen car, and he alerted several Colorado candidates who had been targeted by ATP. A lawyer married to one of those Colorado candidates shipped the boxes to Montana.
The boxes held files on 23 conservative candidates in Montana and included surveys filled out by the candidates and their wives and mailers said to be paid for by the candidates’ campaigns. Several file folders held pages with multiple copies of candidates’ signatures, including signatures that matched ones found on the mailers. Bank statements found in the boxes came from several outside groups, including the Coalition For Energy and Environment, the Alliance of Montana Taxpayers, and the Conservative Victory Fund.
Some of the documents referred to Christian LeFer, who was described in 2009 memos as ATP’s director of strategic programming. LeFer was also registered with the Montana Secretary of State as the executive director of Montana Citizens For Right To Work. He and his wife Allison LeFer owned Direct Mail and Communications, a Bozeman printing company.
When PBS Frontline and ProPublica investigators asked about the box of documents, ATP’s attorney in Colorado, Jim Brown, suggested they belonged to Direct Mail and Communications. Brown also suggested that PBS Frontline hand over the documents because they were “in possession of stolen property.” By that time, however, the boxes were in the hands of the office of the Commissioner of Political Practices.
LeFer said the documents were in his car when it was stolen in Denver in June 2010. He filed a complaint in state district court as the PBS Frontline show was publicized seeking the return of the documents. He claimed their release would harm his business.
His wife later claimed in an e-mail to the Associated Press that the documents found in Colorado were a mix of documents from her business, Direct Mail and Communications, and her husband’s business as an independent political consultant. She said she alone worked with candidates, and perhaps her husband referred clients to her.
When PBS Frontline investigators asked Julie Steab, an investigator for the Commissioner of Political Practices, about the Colorado documents, she responded, “My opinion, for what it’s worth, is that ATP was running a lot of these campaigns.”
PBS Frontline also asked what former federal election commissioner Trevor Potter thought about the documents. “This is the sort of information that is, in fact, campaign strategy, campaign plans that candidates cannot share with an outside group without making it coordinated,” he said. If he was still an FEC commissioner, “I would say we had grounds to proceed with an investigation.”
Office burglarized
The office of the Commissioner of Political Practices does not have the authority to levy fines or penalties, Unsworth said. After it issues a finding, an attempt is made to settle with the offending party. If a settlement cannot be reached, the office might take the case to state district court.
In the case of ATP, Unsworth said, the organization refused to follow the state’s election regulations, and the office felt compelled to take the case to court. ATP filed a counter-claim in state district court, he said, and a hearing is scheduled in the matter in March 2013.
In a new twist to the case, a Capitol security guard in Helena reported a break-in at the office of the Commissioner of Political Practices on Oct. 31 at about 9:47 p.m. — about 24 hours after the PBS Frontline show was aired. The guard said the door was open and the basement light was on.
Mary Baker, who works in the office, said the Colorado documents had been moved to another site earlier and were secure. No documents in the office appeared to be missing, but office staff were still checking. The current Commissioner of Political Practices, Jim Murry, rejected a request by the AP to see the Colorado documents, citing the state lawsuit against ATP.
On Nov. 1, Judge Sherlock said he intends to sanction ATP for failing to produce organizational records in the two-year-old case relating to the 2008 and 2010 elections. He said he would specify what those sanctions would be after he had reviewed additional written arguments from ATP and the state.
The state claims the records ordered by the judge but still missing included a list of the nonprofit organization’s board members, its bylaws, meeting minutes and some communications.
Bopp, ATP’s attorney, argued that disclosure would violate its constitutional rights to free speech and other rights. He also noted that ATP had not appealed prior orders by the court to provide the records because it didn’t expect to win before the Montana Supreme Court.
The Montana Attorney General’s Office has accused ATP of “willful disobedience” and hiding under the cloak of nonprofit status. Assistant Attorney General Andy Huff said he’d never before seen an attorney tell a judge that his client would not obey that judge’s orders.
On Nov. 2, Sherlock ordered the release of ATP files collected by the state over the past two years. The records are not the same as those reported in the PBS Frontline show. The released records from 2008-2010 include hundreds of pages of account transactions and copies of checks to lawyers, consultants, vendors and a Tea Party organizer in Montana, Colorado and Washington, D.C.
Some of the newly released documents indicate that in October 2008, when the group launched as Western Tradition Partnership, it received $515,000. Several days later, ATP gave $500,000 to the anti-union political group National Right To Work Committee.
Other documents allegedly show that Allison LeFer was intimately involved in ATP’s finances and signed many of their checks. This would seem to contradict her earlier claim that her business, Direct Mail and Communications, was not connected to her husband Christian LeFer’s political consulting work.
ATP responds
American Tradition Partnership executive director Donald Ferguson’s first reaction to learning about PBS Frontline’s upcoming show about the Colorado documents was to say the group had contacted the FBI “regarding the Montana Commission on Political Practices’ admission that they have engaged in the interstate trafficking of stolen property.”
Ferguson followed up the same day by saying, “With days to go until Montanans vote, the activist group ProPublica has decided to release a misleading, sensationalist story built around personal property stolen from a car and delivered by a meth user to ATP’s political opponents.” Ferguson said PBS Frontline’s story “falsely links ATP to individual activities the organization has no connection to.”
“ATP does not, and never will, tell voters which candidate to vote for,” he said. “ATP speaks on the issues, informing voters where candidates stand and of their public records.”
Ferguson said that other than sending a questionnaire to a candidate, “I have never communicated with most of them.” He added that, “I seriously doubt stolen property acquired by a meth user and spread around by political activists are true, accurate, unaltered and complete documents.”
Immediately following the PBS Frontline show’s broadcast on Oct. 30, Ferguson issued another statement in which he questioned how media investigators got access to the Colorado documents. He also wondered why the Commission on Political Practices never acted on documents it held for a year and a half, and he noted that a judge had blocked further release of the documents. Ferguson also commented on the broadcast’s message.
“Aside from wild conspiracy theories and willful misreadings of applicable campaign finance and nonprofit laws, tonight’s Frontline story simply revealed what most Montanans and Americans already knew — that radical anti-growth environmentalists aren’t the only ones who are free to organize, raise money and communicate with the public on important policy topics,” he said.[who/what is referring to? pbs?=<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Tradition_Partnership,Inc.v.Montana">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Tradition_Partnership,Inc.v.Montana</a>added 8/16Sunlight=Disinfectant: Republican Group Lays Out Case Against National Right To Work Committeeby Lee Stranahan | Apr 23, 2014 | Staffergate, Two complaints filed this week by a Republican led group in Montana lay out a damning case against lobbying group National Right To Work Committee and affiliated groups and individuals for years of extensive illegal campaign activity.Two complaints were filed on Monday, April 21st with the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices. The first was filed against the National Right to Work Committeeand people associated with it. The second complaint was against people and organizations including Western Tradition Partnership / American Tradition Partnership and the people behind those groups including Christian and Allison LeFer and Donny Ferguson. Ferguson is currently communications director for Texas Congressman Steve Stockman.National Right To Work Committee AllegationsThe allegations made against the National Right to Work committee are stark and consistent with the months of reporting I’ve done on the group — it claims that they operated secret printing presses, coordinated illegally with candidates and operated a number of deceptive front groups.This complaint is being filed against National Right to Work Committee and its affiliates, agents, officers, and directors for violations of Montana campaign finance and practices laws. For many years, the National Right to Work Committee has operated a secret political mail operation. The National Right to Work Committee owns its own printing presses and has the ability to produce thousands of mailings in less than a few weeks. During the 2008, 2010, and 2012 election cycles the National Right to Work Committee through its affiliates and agents mailed thousands of pieces of election material to Montana voters. The National Prolife Alliance, National League of Taxpayers, National Association of Gun Rights, National Gun Owners Alliance, and Western Tradition Partnership/American Tradition Partnership are nothing more than front groups/agents of the National Right to Work Committee and act under the direction of the National Right to Work Committee.Although the National Right to Work Committee has taken various steps to conceal the connection of the front groups/affiliates, there is enough publically available information to suggest a connection between the National Right to Work Committee and entities identified above. The National Right to Work Committee is located at 8001 Braddock Road, Suite 500 in Springfield, VA 22160. The National Prolife Alliance is located at 5211 Port Royal Road, Suite 500, Springfield, VA 22151. It is believed these addresses are for the same office building. The office building where the National Right to Work Committee is located is at the intersection of Braddock Road and Port Royal Road in Springfield, Virginia. An analysis of Google Maps shows the same office building is used for both addresses.The connection between these entities is more apparent when reviewing other publically available information. According to documents submitted to the Federal Elections Commission, the treasurer for the National Prolife Alliance PAC is Steve Antosh. Mr. Antosh’s personal residence is 3237 Fairfax, VA. (Fairfax County Treasurer Records). This is the same address as the National League of Taxpayers. The President of the National Gun Owners Alliance is Dennis Fusaro who was also a prominent member of the National Right to Work Committee. The National Gun Owners Alliance has also used the same mailing address as the National League of Taxpayers.Christian Lefer is the officer of Montana Citizens for Right to Work. Montana Citizens for Right to Work is financed by the National Right to Work Committee. See National Right to Work IRS Tax Returns. Mr. Lefer has also acted as an agent of Western Tradition Partnership/American Tradition Partnership. On information and belief, the National Right to Work Committee contributed to and/or financed the political operation of Montana Citizens for Right to Work/Western TraditionPartnership/American Tradition Partnership. These entities have never filed any of the necessary paperwork required by Montana law and have never disclosed any contributions and/or expenditures. The complaint filed by Bruce Tutvedt shows a flyer paid for by the National Association for Gun Rights. The bulk mail postage stamp shows the flyer originated from the same mail house as the mailers sent by Western Tradition Partnership. It is believed the mailers were produced by Christian Lefer and/or Direct Mail and Communications.Lefers, Donny Ferguson May Face Multi-Million Dollar FinesBoth complaints is seeking remedies including hefty fines and other injunctions from the LeFers, Ferguson, National Right to Work President Mark Mix and others because it says they are personally liable under Montana law:The agents, officers, and directors of WTP/ATP/TFL/AAF/MCRW are personally liable for all fines, penalties, and other sanctions resulting from the violations listed above under the following statutes:1.  Section 13-35-105, MCA. Under Montana law, a person who aids and abets the conduct of a person who violates a provision of Montana election law is also guilty of a violation of that provision.2.   Section 28-10-702, MCA. Under Montana law, a person who assumes to act as an agent is responsible to third persons when the agent’s acts are wrongful in their nature.The complaint asks for:  A fine against each party in the amount of three times the amount spent by WTP/ATP/TFL/AAF/MCRW and the other associated entities in the 2010 and 2012 election cycles under § 13-37-128, MCA. It is my understanding WTP/ATP alone spent roughly $500,000 in the 2010 election cycle. Thus, for the 2010 election cycle, I would request a fine against each person or entity who committed violations in the 2010 election cycle for the amount of $1,500,000 just for the WTP/ATP expenditures.  I would request other equivalent fines based upon the amount of spending by the other entities in 2010 and 2012;An inspection of documents and reports under § 13-37-121, MCA and issuance of orders of noncompliance as authorized by law;An injunction pursuant to § 13-35-108, MCA to prohibit WTP/ATP/TFL/AAF/MCRW  and its entities, associates, affiliates, subsidiaries, officers, directors, treasurers, and agents from spending any money or performing any election related activity until WTP/ATP/TFL/AAF/MCRW are in compliance with Montana law;Complaints Filed By Republican GroupThe complaints were filed by a Republican affiliated group called Business Advocates for Sensible Elections. As Montana TV station KXLH reported:“Dark money” is the term commonly used to refer to money spent to influence an election that does not disclose the source of the funding.After MT State Senator Ed Buttrey (R-Great Falls) didn’t vote in a way that satisfied so called “dark money” groups during the session, he says that he was threatened: “It was told to me, ‘You are dead in the next election…we are coming after you.'”But despite fear of possible retaliation, Buttrey, along with several Republican lawmakers, are fighting back.The group is called Montana Business Advocates for Sensible Elections – abbreviated Montana BASE – and their issue is with 501(c)4 organizations, also known as “dark money” groups.loses on mann:http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2014/07/11/mann-uva-win-lawsuit-ati-will-pay/docs:  <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3236529-2011-01-11-Transcript-Motion-to-Amend-Protective.html">https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3236529-2011-01-11-Transcript-Motion-to-Amend-Protective.html</a><pre class="DV-textContents" style="box-sizing: content-box; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1.4em; overflow: hidden; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word; margin: 46px;">ON BEHALF OF THE RESPONDENT AS LOCAL COUNSEL:

SCOTT J. NEWTON, ESQUIRE

Stephens, Boatwright, Cooper, Coleman & Newton, P.C.

9255 Lee Avenue

Manassas, Virginia 20110

Telephone:

703.361.8246

Facsimile:

703.361.4171

Email:

newton@manassaslaw.com

ON BEHALF OF THE CLAIMANT:

DAVID W. SCHNARE, ESQUIRE, PH.D.

CHRISTOPHER HORNER, ESQUIRE.

American Tradition Institute

2020 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Suite 186

Washington, D.C. 20006.

Telephone:

Email:

571.243.7975.

david.s@atinstitute.org</pre>---<div class="g" style="line-height: 1.2; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 27px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div data-hveid="CAEQAA" data-ved="2ahUKEwiK3Iuf2dPkAhULsJ4KHSmUDYsQFSgAMAB6BAgBEAA"><div class="rc" style="position: relative;"><div class="r" style="margin: 0px; font-size: small; line-height: 1.57;"><a href="https://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/09/18/statementupdate-on-ati-v-uvamann/" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/09/18/statementupdate-on-ati-v-uvamann/&ved=2ahUKEwiK3Iuf2dPkAhULsJ4KHSmUDYsQFjAAegQIARAB" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 153); cursor: pointer;" /><h3 class="LC20lb" style="font-size: 20px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-flex; max-width: 100%; line-height: 1.3;"><a href="https://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/09/18/statementupdate-on-ati-v-uvamann/" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/09/18/statementupdate-on-ati-v-uvamann/&ved=2ahUKEwiK3Iuf2dPkAhULsJ4KHSmUDYsQFjAAegQIARAB" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 153); cursor: pointer;" /><div class="ellip" style="overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/09/18/statementupdate-on-ati-v-uvamann/" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/09/18/statementupdate-on-ati-v-uvamann/&ved=2ahUKEwiK3Iuf2dPkAhULsJ4KHSmUDYsQFjAAegQIARAB" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 153); cursor: pointer;">Statement/Update on ATI v. UVa/Mann | Watts Up With That?</a></div></h3>
<div class="TbwUpd" style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.57; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 1px;"><cite class="iUh30 bc" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 33); font-style: normal; font-size: 16px; padding-top: 1px; line-height: 1.5;">https://wattsupwiththat.com › 2012/09/18 › statementupdate-on-ati-v-uvam...</cite></div><div class="action-menu ab_ctl" style="display: inline; position: relative; margin: 1px 3px 0px; user-select: none; vertical-align: middle;"><a class="GHDvEf ab_button" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=ati+v+mann&oq=ati+v+mann&aqs=chrome..69i57.4519j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#" id="am-b0" aria-label="Result Options" aria-expanded="false" aria-haspopup="true" role="button" jsaction="m.tdd;keydown:m.hbke;keypress:m.mskpe" data-ved="2ahUKEwiK3Iuf2dPkAhULsJ4KHSmUDYsQ7B0wAHoECAEQAw" style="border-radius: 0px; cursor: default; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; height: 12px; line-height: 27px; margin: 1px 0px 2px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; transition: none 0s ease 0s; user-select: none; background-image: none; border: 0px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px 0px; filter: none; width: 13px; text-decoration-line: none; display: inline-block;"><span class="mn-dwn-arw" style="border-color: rgb(0, 102, 33) transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 5px 4px 0px; width: 0px; height: 0px; margin-left: 3px; top: 7.5px; margin-top: -4px; position: absolute; left: 0px;" /></a><div class="action-menu-panel ab_dropdown" role="menu" tabindex="-1" jsaction="keydown:m.hdke;mouseover:m.hdhne;mouseout:m.hdhue" data-ved="2ahUKEwiK3Iuf2dPkAhULsJ4KHSmUDYsQqR8wAHoECAEQBA" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2); font-size: 13px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto; top: 12px; white-space: nowrap; z-index: 3; transition: opacity 0.218s ease 0s; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 2px 4px; left: 0px; visibility: hidden;"><ol style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;"><li class="action-menu-item ab_dropdownitem" role="menuitem" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; user-select: none; cursor: pointer;"><a class="fl" href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:v-0pX7M7hPMJ:https://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/09/18/statementupdate-on-ati-v-uvamann/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search%3Fq%3Dcache:v-0pX7M7hPMJ:https://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/09/18/statementupdate-on-ati-v-uvamann/%2B%26cd%3D1%26hl%3Den%26ct%3Dclnk%26gl%3Dus&ved=2ahUKEwiK3Iuf2dPkAhULsJ4KHSmUDYsQIDAAegQIARAF" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); cursor: pointer; font-size: 16px; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;" /></li></ol></div></div></div><div class="s" style="max-width: 48em; color: rgb(84, 84, 84); line-height: 1.57;">Sep 18, 2012 - Yesterday the American Tradition Institute (ATI) participated in more than four hours of oral argument in the Prince William County Circuit Court, ...</div></div></div></div><div class="g" style="line-height: 1.2; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 27px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div data-hveid="CAAQAA" data-ved="2ahUKEwiK3Iuf2dPkAhULsJ4KHSmUDYsQFSgAMAF6BAgAEAA"><div class="rc" style="position: relative;"><div class="r" style="margin: 0px; font-size: small; line-height: 1.57;"><a href="https://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/09/18/ati-and-the-mann-case-update/" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/09/18/ati-and-the-mann-case-update/&ved=2ahUKEwiK3Iuf2dPkAhULsJ4KHSmUDYsQFjABegQIABAB" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 153); cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" /><h3 class="LC20lb" style="font-size: 20px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-flex; max-width: 100%; line-height: 1.3;"><a href="https://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/09/18/ati-and-the-mann-case-update/" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/09/18/ati-and-the-mann-case-update/&ved=2ahUKEwiK3Iuf2dPkAhULsJ4KHSmUDYsQFjABegQIABAB" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 153); cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" /><div class="ellip" style="overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/09/18/ati-and-the-mann-case-update/" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/09/18/ati-and-the-mann-case-update/&ved=2ahUKEwiK3Iuf2dPkAhULsJ4KHSmUDYsQFjABegQIABAB" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 153); cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;">ATI and the Mann case update | Watts Up With That?</a></div></h3>
<div class="TbwUpd" style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.57; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 1px;"><cite class="iUh30 bc" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 33); font-style: normal; font-size: 16px; padding-top: 1px; line-height: 1.5;">https://wattsupwiththat.com › 2012/09/18 › ati-and-the-mann-case-update</cite></div><div class="action-menu ab_ctl" style="display: inline; position: relative; margin: 1px 3px 0px; user-select: none; vertical-align: middle;"><a class="GHDvEf ab_button" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=ati+v+mann&oq=ati+v+mann&aqs=chrome..69i57.4519j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#" id="am-b1" aria-label="Result Options" aria-expanded="false" aria-haspopup="true" role="button" jsaction="m.tdd;keydown:m.hbke;keypress:m.mskpe" data-ved="2ahUKEwiK3Iuf2dPkAhULsJ4KHSmUDYsQ7B0wAXoECAAQAw" style="border-radius: 0px; cursor: default; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; height: 12px; line-height: 27px; margin: 1px 0px 2px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; transition: none 0s ease 0s; user-select: none; background-image: none; border: 0px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px 0px; filter: none; width: 13px; text-decoration-line: none; display: inline-block;"><span class="mn-dwn-arw" style="border-color: rgb(0, 102, 33) transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 5px 4px 0px; width: 0px; height: 0px; margin-left: 3px; top: 7.5px; margin-top: -4px; position: absolute; left: 0px;" /></a><div class="action-menu-panel ab_dropdown" role="menu" tabindex="-1" jsaction="keydown:m.hdke;mouseover:m.hdhne;mouseout:m.hdhue" data-ved="2ahUKEwiK3Iuf2dPkAhULsJ4KHSmUDYsQqR8wAXoECAAQBA" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2); font-size: 13px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto; top: 12px; white-space: nowrap; z-index: 3; transition: opacity 0.218s ease 0s; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 2px 4px; left: 0px; visibility: hidden;"><ol style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;"><li class="action-menu-item ab_dropdownitem" role="menuitem" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; user-select: none; cursor: pointer;"><a class="fl" href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:yJh0mDvsdA8J:https://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/09/18/ati-and-the-mann-case-update/+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search%3Fq%3Dcache:yJh0mDvsdA8J:https://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/09/18/ati-and-the-mann-case-update/%2B%26cd%3D2%26hl%3Den%26ct%3Dclnk%26gl%3Dus&ved=2ahUKEwiK3Iuf2dPkAhULsJ4KHSmUDYsQIDABegQIABAF" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); cursor: pointer; font-size: 16px; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;" /></li></ol></div></div></div><div class="s" style="max-width: 48em; color: rgb(84, 84, 84); line-height: 1.57;">Sep 18, 2012 - Statement/Update on ATI v. UVa/Mann. From The American Tradition Institute - September 18th, 2012 Yesterday the American Tradition ...</div></div></div></div><div class="g" style="line-height: 1.2; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 27px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div data-hveid="CAUQAA" data-ved="2ahUKEwiK3Iuf2dPkAhULsJ4KHSmUDYsQFSgAMAJ6BAgFEAA"><div class="rc" style="position: relative;"><div class="r" style="margin: 0px; font-size: small; line-height: 1.57;"><a href="https://wattsupwiththat.wordpress.com/2012/04/25/atis-video-pitch-on-the-mann-uva-case/" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://wattsupwiththat.wordpress.com/2012/04/25/atis-video-pitch-on-the-mann-uva-case/&ved=2ahUKEwiK3Iuf2dPkAhULsJ4KHSmUDYsQFjACegQIBRAB" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 153); cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" /><h3 class="LC20lb" style="font-size: 20px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-flex; max-width: 100%; line-height: 1.3;"><a href="https://wattsupwiththat.wordpress.com/2012/04/25/atis-video-pitch-on-the-mann-uva-case/" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://wattsupwiththat.wordpress.com/2012/04/25/atis-video-pitch-on-the-mann-uva-case/&ved=2ahUKEwiK3Iuf2dPkAhULsJ4KHSmUDYsQFjACegQIBRAB" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 153); cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" /><div class="ellip" style="overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://wattsupwiththat.wordpress.com/2012/04/25/atis-video-pitch-on-the-mann-uva-case/" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://wattsupwiththat.wordpress.com/2012/04/25/atis-video-pitch-on-the-mann-uva-case/&ved=2ahUKEwiK3Iuf2dPkAhULsJ4KHSmUDYsQFjACegQIBRAB" style="color: rgb(102, 0, 153); cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;">ATI's video summary of the Mann UVA case | Watts Up With ...</a></div></h3>
<div class="TbwUpd" style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.57; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 1px;"><cite class="iUh30 bc" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 33); font-style: normal; font-size: 16px; padding-top: 1px; line-height: 1.5;">https://wattsupwiththat.wordpress.com › 2012/04/25 › atis-video-pitch-on-t...</cite></div><div class="action-menu ab_ctl" style="display: inline; position: relative; margin: 1px 3px 0px; user-select: none; vertical-align: middle;"><a class="GHDvEf ab_button" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=ati+v+mann&oq=ati+v+mann&aqs=chrome..69i57.4519j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#" id="am-b2" aria-label="Result Options" aria-expanded="false" aria-haspopup="true" role="button" jsaction="m.tdd;keydown:m.hbke;keypress:m.mskpe" data-ved="2ahUKEwiK3Iuf2dPkAhULsJ4KHSmUDYsQ7B0wAnoECAUQAw" style="border-radius: 0px; cursor: default; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; height: 12px; line-height: 27px; margin: 1px 0px 2px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; transition: none 0s ease 0s; user-select: none; background-image: none; border: 0px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px 0px; filter: none; width: 13px; text-decoration-line: none; display: inline-block;"><span class="mn-dwn-arw" style="border-color: rgb(0, 102, 33) transparent; border-style: solid; border-width: 5px 4px 0px; width: 0px; height: 0px; margin-left: 3px; top: 7.5px; margin-top: -4px; position: absolute; left: 0px;" /></a><div class="action-menu-panel ab_dropdown" role="menu" tabindex="-1" jsaction="keydown:m.hdke;mouseover:m.hdhne;mouseout:m.hdhue" data-ved="2ahUKEwiK3Iuf2dPkAhULsJ4KHSmUDYsQqR8wAnoECAUQBA" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2); font-size: 13px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto; top: 12px; white-space: nowrap; z-index: 3; transition: opacity 0.218s ease 0s; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 2px 4px; left: 0px; visibility: hidden;"><ol style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;"><li class="action-menu-item ab_dropdownitem" role="menuitem" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; user-select: none; cursor: pointer;"><a class="fl" href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:g0bTS9xOYaoJ:https://wattsupwiththat.wordpress.com/2012/04/25/atis-video-pitch-on-the-mann-uva-case/+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" ping="/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search%3Fq%3Dcache:g0bTS9xOYaoJ:https://wattsupwiththat.wordpress.com/2012/04/25/atis-video-pitch-on-the-mann-uva-case/%2B%26cd%3D3%26hl%3Den%26ct%3Dclnk%26gl%3Dus&ved=2ahUKEwiK3Iuf2dPkAhULsJ4KHSmUDYsQIDACegQIBRAF" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); cursor: pointer; font-size: 16px; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;" /></li></ol></div></div></div><div class="s" style="max-width: 48em; color: rgb(84, 84, 84); line-height: 1.57;">Apr 25, 2012 - Anthony ATI's Freedom of Information lawsuit on behalf of Virginia ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5Vz3i0j_J0&feature=uploademail.</div></div></div></div>==http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2011/11/02/an-important-victory-for-clima/ Important Victory for Climate Science Posted by Greg Laden on November 2, 2011 You’ve heard about “ClimateGate.” ClimateGate was a very successful but illegal campaign by anti-science to discredit climate science and climate scientists. Rest assured, the climate science is fine and the climate scientists are just trying to do their jobs, and doing quite well at that. Nonetheless, a combination of inaccurate representation of the contents of various emails written between climate scientists and what amounts to unethical treatment of climate science by the press resulted in a shift among the general populous in the US from about half of the people thinking that Global Warming is some sort of hoax (at worst) or bad science (at best) to something closer to 80% of citizens thinking this to be the case.  As a followup on ClimateGate, anti-science forces have continued to harass climate sciences, and this harassment has involved suing to have access to private correspondence among climate scientists which would allegedly include evidence that they were making up data in order to get grant money.In 2010 newly-elected Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, a climate change denier, sued the University of Virginia to get Mann’s private papers. Cuccinelli wanted to sift through them in the wake of “climategate” to see if he could find anything he could spin into a case under the state’s Fraud Against Taxpayers Act, arguing that while an employee of UVA, Mann’s work on climate change may have used public money to perpetrate a fraud.*This initial attempt failed. Then, a group called the Western Tradition Partnership, backed by the energy industry and the Republican Party, which later changed its name to the American Tradition Partnership (ATP), initiated a suit against the University of Virginia to gain access to the same private information.Michael Mann, one of the top climate scientists in the world and creator of the so-called “Hockey Stick Graph” would be one of the main targets of this vigilante investigation, but was not part of the suit. So, he went to court to make a motion that he be allowed to intervene in the suit in order to protect his own interests. One might expect that an institution like UVA would have a different point of view regarding access to private information than the person who’s information is being pillaged, so this seemed a reasonable request.Yesterday a hearing was held to determine the outcome of Mann’s motion.At Tuesday’s hearing, attorneys representing Mann and UVA went on the offensive. Mann’s attorney, Peter Fontaine of the firm Cozen O’Connor, called ATI an extreme right-wing group bent on attacking climate scientists and preventing any kind of action on global warming. After documenting links to various conservative organizations, Fontaine said ATI is part of a “shadowy political network that is largely funded by petroleum companies.”My colleague John Abraham has been in touch with Mike Mann, and relayed this information yesterday: ATI could not convince the court that he (Mike Mann) did not have legal standing. The court has allowed him legal standing so he can be a party in the settlement.Second, the court allowed that there was reason for UVA to reopen the protective order before the court. The original protective order would have allowed ATI to review the emails themselves. That court order is now invalid. ATI will not see the exempt emails.  The only matter to be resolved is the process by which ATI can challenge the exempt emails. Now, a neutral party will be able to see the emails, not ATI. The neutral party must be agreed upon by all parties in the good.The broader message is that this is a major victory and a huge setback for ATI. ATI might appeal this to the Supreme Court.A small but important victory for science. And the planet, actually.My summary of this situation lacks many important details, but several other people have written extensively and intensively about this over the last 12 hours or so. Here is a set of links to those reports:Shawn Lawrence Otto, author of Fool Me Twice, wirting for the Huffington Post: Climate Scientist Wins A Round for America:What is at stake in Mann’s case is something much larger and more precious than papers and emails, or partisan politics — what is at stake is Americans’ freedom to investigate, debate and express ideas that run counter to those of corporations. Attacks on this basic freedom are a step away from democracy and toward tyranny.Jeff Tollefson writing for Nature:Initially worried when UVA granted ATI access to his emails, Mann says he is pleased that he and the university are now on the same legal page. But he nonetheless wants to maintain his own representation going forward – along with some funding from a new organization called the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund. “Universities are often quite limited in what they can do when academics are under attack,” Mann says. “These skeptic groups are trying to exploit that.”Chris Mooney, writing for DeSmogBlog:Yesterday in a Virginia courtroom, Michael Mann–who is quickly becoming the Galileo of climate science–triumphed over the conservative American Tradition Institute, and ongoing attempts at scientist-harassment.Global Warming: Man or Myth has this summary and a list of links to prior writing on this topic.Suzanne Goldenberg writes at The Guardian:Mann has been repeatedly cleared of any scientific misconduct. But Cuccinelli, and more recently the ATI, launched their own investigations, alleging Mann may have manipulated data to help get government research grants. Cuccinelli lost his case but it is under appeal.Deep Climate has an open thread on which this topic has come up.---srchwatch:As of March 2014:[27][24]