He asserted that “the assault on climate science has grown broader and more sophisticated”. In support of this, he cited the Climate Science Legal Defence Fund, which warned that sweeping and “invasive open records requests” to harass and intimidate and “other misuse of the legal system” continue to “threaten climate scientists’ ability to freely conduct research and openly share it with the public”.

Ah yes, they're being intimidated away from openly sharing their data with the public by... Open records requests.

Yeah, that's about the level of reasoning I've come to expect from the most lauded of climate scientists.

5 k is insane considering Mann has literally no legal defense other than “I am the law”

Here, the Court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that Dr Mann, through [his lawyers] Mr Fontaine and Mr Williams, acted in bad faith when they presented erroneous evidence and made false representations to the jury and the Court regarding damages stemming from loss of grant funding. … The Court does not reach this decision lightly.

So in other words... Mann made shit up again.

They [ Mann and his lawyer ] each knowingly made a false statement of fact to the Court and Dr Mann knowingly participated in the falsehood, endeavouring to make the strongest case possible even if it required using erroneous and misleading information.

I wonder if he displayed this behavior in other contexts. We shall never know...

looks like the case is getting reversed because the guy made shit up in court like in his science