A Memory Lapse at the AP?

The Associated Press continued the media crusade against Scooter Libby continued today by clarifying the aims of his enemies, but revealed a typical omission instead. The cleverly-titled piece, “Democrats Don't Want Libby to Be Pardoned,” speaks volumes about its bias.

AP special correspondent David Espo began by quoting a letter from Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid to the White House:

"We also urge you to state publicly whether anyone in the White House -- including White House counsel Harriet Miers or Vice President Cheney -- has already discussed the possibility of a pardon with Mr. Libby."

Reid also accused Vice President Dick Cheney of, “leaking classified information to discredit White House critics.” Mr. Espo continued on Reid’s harangue with this cheap shot:

He challenged the president in personal terms, urging him to ‘avoid falling in the footsteps of his father who pardoned six men, some were convicted, some were indicted in the Iran-Contra scandal.’

Espo then dutifully launched into a short rehash of the Iran-Contra affair. Fair enough.

However, it was strange that Mr. Espo left out a more recent pardon that actually has great bearing on the present case. In January of 2001, William Jefferson Clinton pardoned, among others, one Samuel L. Morison.

Morison’s crime? He was the only person ever convicted of leaking classified intelligence information to the media under the 1917 Espionage Act; the very same act that Democrats and the AP are using to try and convict Lewis Libby and associates.