Things Get Even Funnier (Why Oh Why Can't We Have a Better Press Corps? Department)

Washington Post ombudsman Deborah Howell says "Uncle."

She changes her line on why no Democrats are in the first tier being investigated in the Abramoff scandal from "stay tuned" to "it's not a bipartisan scandal; it's a Republican scandal."

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Deborah Howell, January 15, 2006:

Getting the Story on Jack Abramoff : Schmidt started checking Federal Election Commission records.... Schmidt quickly found that Abramoff was getting 10 to 20 times as much from Indian tribes as they had paid other lobbyists. And he had made substantial campaign contributions to both major parties. "It was enough to get me interested," Schmidt said.... Republicans... say The Post purposely hasn't nailed any Democrats [in the Abramoff scandal]. Several stories... have mentioned that a number of Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) and Sen. Byron Dorgan (N.D.), have gotten Abramoff campaign money. So far, Schmidt and Grimaldi say their reporting on the investigations hasn't put Democrats in the first tier of people being investigated. But stay tuned...

Washington Post ombudsman Deborah Howell, January 22, 2006:

The Firestorm Over My Column : I wrote that he gave campaign money to both parties and their members of Congress. He didn't.... My mistake set off a firestorm. I heard that I was lying, that Democrats never got a penny of Abramoff-tainted money, that I was trying to say it was a bipartisan scandal, as some Republicans claim. I didn't say that. It's not a bipartisan scandal; it's a Republican scandal, and that's why the Republicans are scurrying around trying to enact lobbying reforms...

I would like to know why Deborah Howell thinks various Indian tribes' contributions to Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev) and Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) are "Abramoff-tainted" or "Abramoff campaign money." And I would like to know how to interpret "stay tuned" other than a a claim that the Abramoff scandal is a bipartisan scandal. But I'm happy that she's changed her line on why Democrats aren't in the first tier of people being investigated from "stay tuned" to "it's not a bipartisan scandal; it's a Republican scandal."