Des Moines Register Withholds Arrestee's Connection to Democrat Consulting Firm Until 'Safe'
By P.J. Gladnick
Newsbusters
January 22, 2012 | 12:58
Is it safe?
Is it safe?
No, that wasn't Laurence Olivier as a Nazi dentist drilling holes into Dustin Hoffman's teeth in Marathon Man as he kept repeating that question. In this case it was the Des Moines Register wondering if it was "safe" to mention that a former Obama campaign staffer, Zachary Edwards (see mug shot), who was arrested on Friday for attempted identity theft of the Iowa Republican Secretary of State, Matt Schultz, was a prominent member of a well known Democrat campaign consulting firm, LINK Strategies. On Friday, the day the Des Moines Register first briefly reported the arrest, it wasn't "safe" to mention Link Strategies:
A Des Moines man has been arrested after police say he used, or tried to use, the identity of Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz in a scheme to falsely implicate Schultz in perceived unethical behavior in office.
Zachary Edwards was arrested Friday and charged with identity theft.
The Iowa Department of Public Safety issued a news release saying Schultz's office discovered the scheme on June 24, 2011 and notified authorities.
The criminal complaint says Edwards fraudulently used or attempted to use the identity of Schultz or Schultz's brother with the intent to obtain a benefit. No other details were given.
Gee! What possible reason would Edwards want to falsely implicate Schultz in perceived unethical behavior in office? Come to think of it, what is the political affiliation of Edwards? Reading the Register story, one could not guess if not already familiar with Iowa politics or if you are still one of those permanently offline folks. Of course, as is often the case, the detailed background to this story was found that same day on the Web at the Iowa Grounds blog by editor Shane Vander Hart which actually contains more pertinent information in just the headline than the entire Register article ... Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz Targeted for Identity Theft by Former Obama Staffer:
...
Meanwhile Shane Vander Hart of Iowa Grounds had a good laugh on his Facebook page over the Des Moines Register waiting until it was "safe" to report on Zach Edwards' connection to LINK Strategies:
I find it interesting that I knew on Friday night he worked for Link Strategies, but the Register couldn't report on this until Sunday AM. ... Yeah, I guess they had to wait until after he was fired so they could put some positive spin on this story.
Remainder of article @ http://newsbusters.org/blogs/pj-gladnick/2012/01/22/des-moines-register-withholds-arrestees-connection-democrat-consulting-
The essential American soul is hard, isolate, stoic, and a killer. It has never yet melted. ~ D.H. Lawrence
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