These two posts must have really struck a nerve, because the response has been overwhelming. I don’t have time to respond to every e-mailer, but I am deeply appreciative of everyone who has taken the time to send in a nominee for the “dishonor roll” — that is, an article or item in the press that regurgitates false information about former ambassador Joseph Wilson and his trip to Africa.

Just to recap for people who are just joining us, we’ve been waging a campaign to get the media to tell the truth about Joseph Wilson. How many times have you been reading a story about the Valerie Plame leak investigation and come across the following stock description of Plame’s husband, Joseph Wilson:

The case involves Joseph Wilson, a former ambassador who became a critic of the Bush administration after he refuted the administration’s claims that Iraq had been seeking uranium from Niger.

followed by a paragraph like this:

Some say the administration tried to punish Wilson by outing his wife, covert CIA official Valerie Plame.

We now know, thanks to the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee Report on pre-war intelligence, that Wilson’s trip actually bolstered the administration’s claims that Iraq had been seeking uranium from Niger. In his New York Times op-ed of July 6, 2003, Wilson omitted this aspect of his trip, wrote that he had concluded that no “transaction” or sale of uranium had taken place, and said that this somehow refuted the administration’s claims that Iraq had sought to purchase the uranium.

As to the second stock paragraph, regardless of what “some” say, it is highly unlikely that anyone in the administration was trying to “punish” Joseph Wilson. Rather, by calling attention to the fact that his wife was a CIA officer and had recommended him for the trip (which he lied about), the administration was trying to point out that Wilson’s criticisms were the latest salvos in a dispute between the CIA and the White House over who was to blame for getting the WMD intelligence wrong. Leaks coming out of the CIA blamed the White House for “twisting” intelligence that the CIA had caveatted. White House officials said they were told the intelligence was solid.

Yet over and over again, the press continues to use the stock paragraphs that whitewash Joseph Wilson’s lies, ignore the findings of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and paint Wilson as a glorious truthteller who fell victim to a vicious smear campaign. This will not do. That’s why my readers and I have started the dishonor roll — to spot articles and reporters who continue to peddle these distortions. Here are today’s nominees:

This item in the Hartford Courant, for the following paragraph (submitted by William N.):

Far from being whistleblowers, Libby and Rove apparently were getting even with a whistleblower – namely former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, Valerie Plame Wilson’s husband, who had publicly challenged the administration’s assertion that Iraq had sought materials in Africa to build nuclear weapons.

Paul L. nominates NPR’s “Morning Edition”, writing:

They easily ran away from all competition with this morning’s story and interview of David Kaye. Not only did they repeat every single aspect of the media misstatement of the facts of the Plame/Wilson farce, but they extended it into a claim that Kaye found that Saddam “never had any program to produce WMDs.”

Mark P. nominates this item from the Rocky Mountain News, writing:

Mike Littwin’s article in the print version read “It was Wilson, of course, who went to Niger and who came back discounting the uranium story. Before going after Wilson’s story-which may have had some holes in it- The Bush administration went after Wilson.”
Mr. Littwin is repeating the Post-Times fiction almost verbatim but at least he hints that Joe Wilson may have some credibility problems. In the on-line version of the article, even this minor head fake towards the truth has been omitted.

There’s this item from the Seattle Times, nominated by John E., which reads:

Wilson detailed a trip to Africa he took at the behest of the CIA to check out claims that Iraq bought nuclear material from Niger. He determined the sale was doubtful, and was curious why Bush repeated the claims in his 2003 State of the Union speech.

Bush didn’t claim that there had been a sale. He said, “The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.”

On a final note, MB reader Robert S. notes the following double-standard in the press coverage of the Plame leak:

Have you noticed how the reported facts about Plame’s role in Wilson’s Niger trip shift depending on whether Wilson’s or Cheney’s credibility is at issue? When discussing Wilson’s past denials of Plame’s role, the reports emphasize that this is a disputed point and suggest that Plame was (at most) a conduit or recommender. When discussing Cheney’s past statement that he didn’t know who “sent” Wilson to Niger, the reports say this is inconsistent with his discussion of Plame’s identity with Libby. But Cheney’s statement is inconsistent only if Cheney knew Plame’s identity and that Plame herself sent Wilson to Niger. The last part is not stated, apparently because it would also mean that Plame’s role is not in dispute and Wilson is a liar.

That’s a great point. Suddenly when it comes to the issue of, “What did the Vice President know and when did he know it?” it’s 100 percent certain that Plame sent Wilson to Africa — which Wilson lied about to Time magazine and in his book, titled The Politics of Truth.

Thanks for all the e-mails. Please send more nominees as you find them, and I’ll be on the lookout as well.