Puffy Miami Herald Piece Omits Disgraced Sheriff's Party Label

Another newspaper in the Sunshine State is failing to cast light on the Democratic Party affiliation of a disgraced former sheriff.

The Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel did the same thing in September, as NewsBuster P.J. Gladnick reported then. Now it's the Miami Herald's turn. And it's not like there weren't enough reporters working the November 16 story to unearth former Broward County Sheriff Ken Jenne's Democratic party affiliation. Three other Herald staffers joined writer Jay Weaver in spinning a gauzy story of how, "The powerful, not so powerful support Jenne.":

They ranged from Broward's most politically influential to a rehabilitated crack addict.

They crowded into a federal courtroom Friday morning to speak on behalf of former Broward Sheriff Ken Jenne, who will be sentenced on charges of fraud and income tax evasion.

Weaver, along with fellow Herald staffers Dan Christensen, Tenton Daniel and Wanda J. DeMarzo did affix party labels to current and former Democratic legislators, although not once to Jenne.

Of additional interest to political junkies, albeit tangential to this story, among one of Jenne's supporters is "Art Kennedy, the politically influential chief of staff" to Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.).

Although unmentioned in the article, Hastings once served as a federal judge but left the bench following conviction on an impeachment charge for conspiracy to solicit and accept a bribe. Hastings's removal was initially upheld by a federal court but ultimately reversed in a 1993 Supreme Court ruling dealing with a similar case in the impeachment and removal of federal judge Walter L. Nixon.