AP Reporter Lara Jakes Jordan wrote about a letter that had "been sent" but not yet delivered to Attorney General Mike Mukasey. The reporter had a significant number of facts, including that the signers of the letter were Obama donors, that she did not disclose. Part of the story:
Six former Justice Department lawyers want Attorney General Michael Mukasey to make sure voter registration investigations don't keep eligible minority voters from the polls on Election Day.
The six attorneys formerly worked in the department's Civil Rights Division, which oversees ballot access issues as part of the Voting Rights Act.
The core of the letter concerned a policy at the DoJ that the Wall Street Journal has noticed is not being followed:
In a letter Friday to Mukasey, the attorneys noted that Justice Department policies generally discourage voter-related investigations until after elections to make sure the inquiries don't interfere with legitimate voters at the polls.
There are several problems with this story however. First, as noted above, the letter hadn't yet been delivered and no names were mentioned. Once I actually asked her for a copy of the letter, it turned out that 3 of the 6 signers of the letters were Obama donors. And she did not disclose that she herself is married to John Kerry's campaign manager Jim Jordan. And that's not the only problem.
The letter lists 6 attorneys: Stephen J. Pollack, James P. Turner, Brian K. Landsberg, Joseph D. Rich, Paul F. Hancock, and Sandra S. Coleman.
Of these, Pollack donated $2,300 to Barack Obama. Rich donated $500 (and possible more. 2 Joseph Rich's donated with no compliance information). Hancock gave $250 (and another $1,000 to Chris Dodd). It is also possible that Turner gave $2,300 and is a Democratic Congressional staffer, but I cannot confirm that that is the same person.
This story is written by the spouse of the campaign manager for the previous Democratic nominee describing a letter by Democratic partisans containing unchallenged misleading statements that advances an argument by Barack Obama's campaign.
One would think that the AP might have reported that differently.
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Oh, come on; you're just
October 29, 2008 - 15:50 ET by motherbeltOh, come on; you're just being nit-picky.
I'm sure someone said "Hey, Lara, these are Obama supporters!" and she said, "Yeah, so?"
And then they said: "You're pretty closely connected to this; don't you think people should know that?" And she said "No."
And then: "Don't you think people might think this is a bit biased?"
And she said: "No."
End of conversation.
Duh
October 29, 2008 - 16:04 ET by ArcherBShe's AP! She can't be biased.
"To send men to the firing squad, judicial proof is unnecessary."
--Ernesto "Che" Guevara
I swear - as soon as McCain
October 29, 2008 - 17:20 ET by MazziI swear - as soon as McCain and Palin are in office, they need to do something about this. These "alleged journalists" are 100% aware of their rights, but they care not a whit about their responsibilities.
We need to overhaul the whole interpretation of "freedom of the press". Seriously! Don't get me wrong - it's one of the greatest rights we have in our country, but it cannot be allowed to continue being abused at will, by using these same rights bestowed upon it for personal gain.
"Fool me once - shame on you... fool me twice - shame on me." ~ my Father
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" ~ Martin Luther King Jr.
This story is written by
October 29, 2008 - 23:04 ET by TN MomThis story is written by the spouse of the campaign manager for the previous Democratic nominee describing a letter by Democratic partisans containing unchallenged misleading statements that advances an argument by Barack Obama's campaign.
The AP should have to print a bias disclaimer before every article written.