As attacks on the work and reputation of climatologists continued, Mann discussed with colleagues the need for a strong response when they were slandered or libeled. In July 2012, Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) blogger Rand Simberg accused Mann of "deception" and "engaging in data manipulation" and alleged that the Penn State investigation that had cleared Mann was a "cover-up and whitewash" comparable to the recent Jerry Sandusky sex scandal, "except that instead of molesting children, he has molested and tortured data". The CEI blog editor then removed the sentence as "inappropriate", but a "National Review" blog post by Mark Steyn cited it and alleged that Mann's hockey stick graph was "fraudulent".