The University of Virginia filed a brief on Tuesday in support of its petition to set aside Virginia attorney general’s investigation into records associated with climatologist Michael Mann.

Cuccinelli’s office reviewed the brief Tuesday night, according to spokesman Brian Gottstein.

“Nothing in the university’s filings changes the basic issues,” Gottstein wrote in an e-mail. “Virginia’s Fraud Against Taxpayers Act grants the attorney general authority to investigate whether or not any person has violated the act. It creates no exemptions for any particular class of citizens, but rather, imposes civil liability on any person who knowingly presents a false claim for payment to the commonwealth or one of its agencies. As noted in our prior filings, our office is investigating whether a false claim was presented to the university-nothing more and nothing less.

“Climate science is only an issue in this proceeding in a limited way. First, it establishes the context for the taxpayer-funded grants sought by Professor Mann. Second, the questions raised by others regarding the integrity of his work raise issues concerning what representations were made about that work in obtaining and working under the grants.”