(AP PHOTO/THE WASHINGTON POST, LINDA DAVIDSON)
You may have heard that Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe (D) lied to federal investigators probing a fraud scheme. At least that was what the Associated Press reported last week before quickly retracting the story.
Several of those involved in reporting the story were fired by the Associated Press, but it wasn’t clear until now how the false story emerged.
Several journalists, including some at AP, said the McAuliffe story was pushed to news organizations by the campaign of McAuliffe’s rival, Ken Cuccinelli II (R). The Washington Post was among those that received a tip about it from Cuccinelli’s campaign, but The Post passed on the story after checking it.
The Associated Press is ultimately responsible for verifying their stories, but the Cuccinnelli campaign should also be held responsible for disseminating a blatantly false smear.
The good news is polls show McAuliffe leading Cuccinelli by a very wide margin, and voters will soon have an opportunity to hold the Cuccinelli campaign responsible by voting for his opponent.
I never thought I’d see the day Terry McAuliffe would take such a commanding lead in a race, however Virginia Republicans did nominate a guy who ran on a platform of banning blowjobs.