58 “Scienter” means a mental state consisting in an intent to deceive, manipulate, or defraud. In this sense, the term is used most often in the context of securities fraud. The court has held that to establish a claim for damages under securities fraud, a plaintiff must prove that the defendant acted with scienter. Based on the above, the word “scienter” can be BEST replaced by the word of______ .
(A) knowledge
(B) causation
(C) innocence
(D) action