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The scientists were not "discredited". 5 reviews (including one by Britian's Roayal Society and the House of Commons) did not dispute the science. Penn State also exonerated Michael Mann of any scientific wrongdoing.
The reviews did find that the emails were "mean spirited, others were dismissive of contrarian views, and others revealed a reluctance to share data".
The reviews also complained mildly about one poorly explained temp. chart discussed in the emails, but found no reason to dispute the scientists "rigor and honesty".
British panel clears ‘Climate-gate’ scientists of bias
A British report released Wednesday on the “Climate-gate” scandal criticizes a key group of scientists for lack of transparency and other problems with how they presented their data, but it concludes that their underlying scientific work is sound—and one of the top scientists is getting his job back.
In November, climate change experts at the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit found themselves under intense scrutiny when over 1,000 internal e-mails were obtained and uploaded to the Web by hackers. Some climate change skeptics accused the scientists of manipulating data to suppress evidence.
But the experts’ overall “rigor and honesty as scientists are not in doubt,” the new report on the scandal found. The report was requested and paid for by the university, and the panel that conducted the investigation was led by Muir Russell, a retired civil servant and educator.
Last year, Phil Jones, a leading climatologist at the university, temporarily stepped down when he was caught in the center of the firestorm, but he was immediately reinstated based on the conclusions of the report.
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