MSM paper spins spy story: Update 1

(The N&O news story referenced here can't be accessed using The N&O's archive. The paper is available at most public libraries in Eastern and Central North Carolina. You can also find the story using Lexus/Nexus.)

Yesterday I posted regarding an Oct. 6 Raleigh's News & Observer front page story that ran under the headline:

Ex-aide to Cheney accused in spy case

With a NY Times reporters' byline, The N&O reported that Leandro Aragoncillo, an FBI intelligence analyst who once worked as a military aide in the White House has been accused by the government of passing secret government documents to current and former officials in the Philippines.

Readers were told the FBI "has expanded (an) espionage investigation to determine whether Leandro Aragoncillo,...had improper access to classified information while working in Vice President Dick Cheney's office."

Only in the middle of the fifth paragraph did The N&O tell readers that Aragoncillo had worked in Vice President Al Gore's office, also.

And nowhere in the story did The N&O tell readers that Aragoncillo had been cleared to work in the White House during the Clinton administration; had worked as an aide to Gore for 19 months; and that the FBI feared the spying may have started in June 2000, well before Cheney became Vice President.

So why the headline:

Ex-aide to Cheney accused in spy case

And why, since Aragoncillo worked as a Gore aide for 19 months, something the FBI has known for years, was The N&O reporting only that the FBI was investigating his "improper access to classified information while working in Vice President Dick Cheney's office?" Did The N&O's journalists really believe the FBI wasn't looking into what Aragoncillo did during his time as a Gore aide? Was the FBI really saying only what The N&O was reporting?

I promised to follow up today and report. Here it is:

1) I spoke by phone with a spokesperson for the FBI and identified myself as a blogger. I asked whether the FBI was investigating only Aragoncillo's work as a Cheney aide. How about Gore? "We don't comment on the scope of current investigations," the spokesperson said.

Follow up questions elicited the same answer.

2) Read The N&O for Oct. 7. On pg. 3, a follow up on the spy story.

Headline: Another man facing charges in spy case

Among other things, The N&O told readers:

The FBI also is looking into whether the analyst, Leandro Aragoncillo, 46, a former Marine, passed along secret information taken from the White House when he worked in Vice President Dick Cheney's office.

The N&O made no mention of Aragoncillo's service as a Gore aide.

3) Read The N&O for Oct. 8. On pg. 24, another follow up on the spy story.

Headline: Reports not espionage, Philippine ex-president says

Here's the fifth paragraph:

The FBI is looking at whether Aragoncillo, 46, also took classified information about the Philippines from the White House when he worked for Vice Presidents Al Gore and Dick Cheney from 1999 to 2002.

Interesting paragraph, isn't it?

Question: Does anyone really believe the FBI has only now begun investigating what Aragoncillo did during his time as a Gore aide?

There's so much about The N&O's reporting of this story that needs further examination.

I plan to follow up Monday with N&O staffers and others.

A case of possible spying shouldn't be a vehicle for spin and liberal bias.