WorldNetDaily named Michele Bachmann its “Woman of the Year” last year, and apparently one of the perks of that designation is that WND will deflect and whitewash her ethical peccadilloes.
Bob Unruh does exactly that in an April 22 WND article, uncritically regurgitating claims by a former Bachmann official that a dispute over how a staffer for her presidential campaign in Iowa was paid has absolutely nothing to do with her:
News media are turning an ethics dispute between the Iowa Senate and one of its members into a story that is “wrong, reckless, and outrageous,” according to a statement released by counsel for U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn.
[…]The dispute arose over a claim that an Iowa state senator was paid to work on Bachmann’s 2012 presidential election campaign. The charges, and refutations, both come from different members of the team that supported Bachmann in the race.
“The way the media is portraying this story is wrong, reckless, and outrageous. The affidavit by a former employee in fact confirms that Congresswoman Bachmann followed all applicable laws and ethical rules and instructed those working for her to do the same,” the statement.
“The alleged arrangement at issue was both lawful and properly reported under federal law. This dispute is between the Iowa Senate and an Iowa senator: it has nothing whatsoever to do with Congresswoman Bachmann or her political committees,” the statement continued.
“For anyone to suggest otherwise is both dishonest and reprehensible.”
Well, Unruh is certainly not going to suggest otherwise — heck, he waits until the third-to-last paragraph of his article before he even gets around to naming the person making the allegation.