Associated Press on Palin's E-Mails: Not the Brightest Pumpkins

Ted Bridis includes a strange statement in the Associated Press article on Gov. Palin’s e-mail being hacked.

One of the “facts” he thinks worthy of mention (paragraph 3, no less) is that the AP wouldn't give copies of the e-mails to the Secret Service.

The Secret Service contacted The Associated Press on Wednesday and asked for copies of the leaked e-mails, which circulated widely on the Internet. The AP did not comply.

What’s funny is the disjunction between “copies of the leaked e-mails, which circulated widely on the Internet” and “The AP did not comply.” The documents were not given to the Associated Press. They were “circulated widely on the Internet.”

AP’s stance is laughable. The Associated Press is apparently unaware that any dolt going to the internet site where the leaked e-mails were published has access to the copies.

One can understand the Secret Service following every possible lead–even asking AP for their copies. But, for the Associated Press to pretend that their copies were something special to give up seems to indicate that they are not the brightest pumpkins in the patch.

Dan Goodin, writing for the UK Register, seems to have found a link to the hacker’s identity in the online documents–something the AP missed. The AP might think about doing a little less preening and a bit more journalistic sleuthing.