ABC News Gets Specific
05/26 03:40 AM - The Markup
ABC News reporter Brian Ross has gotten more specific about what he meant when he reported that Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert was "in the mix" of a Congressional bribery investigation:
As for the facts of ABC News' story itself, here is what ABC News knows:
That the FBI interrogation of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff included specific and repeated questions about his relationship with Speaker Hastert along with other members of Congress.
That, although Hastert is not a formal target, the FBI has been looking into a letter Hastert and others sent to the Secretary of the Interior urging her to block an Indian casino that would have competed with casinos represented by Abramoff.
That a few days before the letter was sent, Abramoff hosted a fundraiser for Hastert at a restaurant he owned.
In other words, ABC News knows stuff we already knew about (the letter), and stuff that should come as a surprise to absolutely no one (the FBI questioned Abramoff about the letter and have looked into it). What about what ABC News doesn't know?
1. Did Abramoff tell investigators of a quid pro quo relationship between the fundraiser and the letter?
2. Have investigators come across any other evidence that a quid pro quo relationship existed between the fundraiser and the letter?
Unless the answer to either of these questions is, "Yes," what makes this particular incident any different from hundreds of similar — and legal — incidents that occur between lobbyists and members of Congress all the time? If the answer to both questions is, "No," what makes this a newsworthy story?
At approximately 6:30 p.m. yesterday, ABC News reported:
Federal officials say the Congressional bribery investigation now includes Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, based on information from convicted lobbyists who are now cooperating with the government.
Now, 24 hours later, Brian Ross tells us that he had essentially no more information than the rest of us when he hinted that he knew things we did not — using the mysterious phrase "in the mix" to describe Hastert's status in the investigation. If he had just reported on Wednesday what he reported yesterday, maybe he would not be facing litigation right now. As things stand, I hope a fellow journalist doesn't get sued. But I will have very little sympathy for him if he does.
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