A researcher with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) will be charged by federal prosecutors for "fraudulently obtaining a credit report on Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, now a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate." The Washington Post buried the story on page B4 yesterday (Thu. 3/16/06); but that's a lot more than you can say for the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, who have not published a single syllable on this story this week.

Lt. Gov. Steele has risen to become a significant figure in the Republican Party. It's not hard to imagine that this story getting a lot more play in the mainstream media had the victim been a Hillary, Obama, or Edwards. In light of the attention that the Claude Allen episode has gained, isn't a clear case of "dirty politics" worthy of a little ink? If this were a Republican "scandal," wouldn't this be front-page news coast to coast?

What makes the NY Times' silence damning is that the DSCC is chaired by Sen. Chuck Schumer, Democratic senator from New York. The New York Post reports that Republicans have demanded that Chuck apologize.