Well, here's 2 more. The AL GOP is spinning like a top:

Article regarding CBS' 60 Minutes Lack of "Journalistic Ethics"

Philip Bryan ALGOP Communications Director
to me
More options 7:39 pm

A great article by Quin Hillyer – American Spectator, regarding CBS’ 60 Minutes segment on Dana Jill Simpson and Don Siegelman, which aired last night.


60 Minutes Sinks Even Lower - Sunday, February 24, 2008 @ 9:32:59 PM


The 60 Minutes report tonight was even worse than I expected – and I expected it to be awful. In fact, it was execrable: easily the worst journalistic ethics I have ever seen in my life.

First, the “expert” given the most air time to allege that Democratic former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, now serving time for bribery, should never have been prosecuted in the first place was “Republican” former Arizona AG Grant Woods. Two points. First, how the heck would Woods know? He was in Arizona, not Alabama. Second, despite 60 Minutes going to great lengths to stress that Woods is credible specifically because he is a Republican criticizing other Republicans, the truth is that Woods is hardly a GOP stalwart. As long ago as October of 2002, he was publicly threatening to bolt the GOP and become a Democrat. A quick Google search seems to show that he takes the “liberal” side in most of his law cases (I will gladly correct myself if proved wrong on this); for instance, he most recently was in the news for agreeing to prosecute a border patrol agent who shot an illegal immigrant. And in 2006 he publicly supported Democrat Harry Mitchell in his bid to unseat conservative Republican U.S. Rep. J.D. Hayworth. Some Republican Woods is! And again, he is in Arizona, not Alabama. What a joke.

But as a journalistic sin, the prominent attention given to Woods is child’s play compared to the airing of the utterly bizarre allegation by ditzy-sounding Alabama attorney (and supposed one-time Republican “operative”) Dana Jill Simpson that Karl Rove “approached” her at a 2001 “meeting” and asked her to try to photograph Siegelman in sexual acts with an aide. On air at least, though, 60 Minutes did not even bother to ask her the most obvious of follow-up questions to test her story. Such as: Exactly where did this supposed meeting take place? Exactly when in 2001? Was anybody else present? What was the meeting about? Why did Rove have any reason to think she, of all people, could find Siegelman in flagrante, much less photograph him? Did Rove ever follow-up with her to find out if she had been successful? Did she tell anybody else at the time about Rove’s supposed request? And so on….

As I noted in my earlier column, there is absolutely no reason to believe the woman, and not even any logic that would explain Rove’s interest in such a project in Alabama while he was busy getting settled into his first year at the White House, a full year before the Alabama governor’s race.

I mean, the entire story is ludicrous on its face. And 60 Minutes now has good reason to look up to the National Enquirer as a exemplar of journalistic ethics and accuracy to which 60 Minutes can only hope to aspire IF 60 Minutes would spend years improving its product.



Posted By: Quin Hillyer



http://www.spectator.org/blogger.asp?BlogID=11702

Response to Dana Jill Simpson's Accusations which Aired Tonight on 60 Minutes

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"Rep. Mike Hubbard ALGOP Chairman"
to me
More options 6:56 am (4 hours ago)

Alabama Republican Party Chairman Mike Hubbard Response to
CBS' 60 Minutes' story which aired tonight (2.24.08)

CBS News and 60 Minutes’ disdain for the Republican Party brought them
embarrassment when they ran a bogus and fraudulent story about President
Bush and his National Guard record in the fall of 2004 – ultimately
admitting to not having followed “basic journalistic principles”. It
appears that same revulsion for the GOP is bringing them embarrassment once
again as they air yet another fiction. Today, the staff of the New York
Times must be relieved they are not alone in having their liberal political
bias examined on the national stage.”
The comparison below details the many fictions & ommissions of the 60 Minutes' story which aired tonight:

FICTION #1: In his online preview piece, Reporter Scott Pelley states that William
Canary was the “Campaign Manager” for Bob Riley in the 2002
Governor’s race AND on tonight’s show said that he “ran” that campaign.

TRUTH: The 2002 Riley Campaign Director was Mr. Toby Roth (cite). William
Canary was in fact the CEO of the American Trucking Association at that
time. Even the New York Times managed to get this correct when they
referred to William Canary as an “informal advisor” to the Riley
Campaign.

CITATIONS: (a) Riley Campaign Press Release from 2002 Campaign naming Toby
Roth as the Campaign Director.
http://www.governorpress.alabama.gov/pr/pr-2006-12-08-01-chief_staff.asp

(b) New York Times story identifying William Canary as an “informal
advisor” to the 2002 Riley For Governor Campaign.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/01/us/01prosecute.html?_r=1&oref=login


FICTION #2: Reporter Scott Pelley states in his online preview piece that Dana Jill
Simpson “worked for” the Republican Party and during tonight’s full
show, that she was a Republican Party “operative”.

TRUTH: As stated by Alabama Republican Party Chairman Mike Hubbard to 60
Minutes, “we can find not one instance of Dana Jill Simpson volunteering
or working on behalf of the Alabama Republican Party – as stated by 60
Minutes reporter Scott Pelley”.

CITATIONS: (a) Alabama Republican Party Chairman Mike Hubbard Statement of
February 23, 2008 to 60 Minutes & CBS News.
www.algop.org


FICTION #3: According to 60 Minutes Reporter Scott Pelley, Dana Jill Simpson says
she met with Karl Rove in 2001 and had been asked
to do work on his behalf – to gather “intelligence” – many times
before. She says this was part of a secret “five year secret campaign to
ruin the Governor”. However, 60 Minutes asks and offers ZERO evidence
to support such a claim.


TRUTH: Dana Jill Simpson offers no evidence of ever having met with Karl Rove.
Dana Jill Simpson did not offer any of these claims about Karl Rove when
she testified before the House Judiciary Committee Staff under sworn
testimony. The name “Rove” or “Karl Rove” or “Karl” came up over 30
times during her testimony, but she failed to mention that she had met with
Rove or worked for him in the past. After over a year in the White House
as the President’s most senior advisor, Dana Jill Simpson and Scott Pelley
expect us to believe that this meeting took place, but ask and offer no
proof. She also offers no evidence of the alleged “5 year campaign” on
which she worked with one of the most powerful men in the world.


FICTION #4: Dana Jill Simpson says that William Canary told her that she would “not
have to do more intelligence work”.

TRUTH: Dana Jill Simpson once again comes forward with this statement for the
first time. Even after having testified before the Judiciary Committee staff
under oath, she is only now coming forward with this new claim. Even
though much of her 4 hour testimony was in regards to conversations she
overheard with William Canary, she fails to mention to Congressional
investigators and staffers that she heard such a statement.


FICTION #5: The cases against Don Siegelman in the northern district and the southern
district are the same.

TRUTH: 60 Minutes reporter Scott Pelley and Attorney Doug Jones FAIL TO
MENTION that the case brought against Don Siegelman in the northern
district was a different case than that brought in the southern district. Two
completely different cases that Scott Pelley and Doug Jones say were the
same.


FICTION #6: Don Siegelman was convicted only for the Scrushy “bribery” related parts
of his indictments.

TRUTH: Don Siegelman was also convicted of obstruction of justice for his
acceptance of bribes in the form of a motorcycle from convicted felon,
Lanny Young.

It is becoming apparent that Dana Jill Simpson will fabricate any claim in
order to extend her 15 minutes in the public spotlight. As the Associated
Press pointed out this week, she has never before mentioned her most recent
accusations about Karl Rove ‘…in spite of testifying to congressional
lawyers for hours last year, submitting a sworn affidavit and speaking
extensively with reporters’. This is not the first time someone has noticed
that her story has changed (see attached). I am sure it will not be the
last.
“Our staff has done an exhaustive search of Alabama Republican Party
records going back several years, and we can find not one instance of Dana
Jill Simpson volunteering or working on behalf of the Alabama Republican
Party – as stated by 60 Minutes reporter Scott Pelley. Nor can we find
anyone within the Republican Party leadership in Alabama who has ever so
much as heard of Dana Jill Simpson until she made her first wave of
accusations last summer in an affidavit originally released only to the New
York Times.



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