Post ombudsman Howell twice falsely claimed Democrats received contributions from Abramoff

Media Matters - Post ombudsman Howell twice falsely claimed Democrats received contributions from Abramoff: Sun, Jan 15, 2006

Summary: Deborah Howell, the Washington Post ombudsman, falsely asserted twice that Democrats received contributions from Jack Abramoff.

In a January 15 column touting The Washington Post's coverage of the influence-peddling scandal surrounding lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Post ombudsman Deborah Howell twice claimed that Democrats received campaign contributions from Abramoff. Howell wrote that research by staff writer Susan Schmidt showed Abramoff 'had made substantial campaign contributions to both major parties,' and that articles by Post business reporter Jeffrey H. Birnbaum showed that Democrats 'have gotten Abramoff campaign money.' In fact, as reported in the Post articles Howell cited, Democrats received money from Abramoff's clients and associates but not from Abramoff directly. ...