8 Ways the New York Times Misled You about Gov. Scott Walker

◼ Last week, the New York Times published both an editorial board piece and a news report detailing allegations that Gov. Scott Walker and his allies violated campaign finance laws during the Wisconsin recall elections. While the paper prides itself on its national audience and standing as a newspaper of record, it miserably failed to present the facts in a clear, lucid fashion. - RedState

By burying key information, and paying extraordinary and unqualified attention to previously discredited theories, the Times sought, intentionally or not, to convict Gov. Walker in a makeshift court of public opinion. Here is why the Times is wrong, and why its story and editorial piece reveal a deep bias against a Republican governor.

1) In its June 19 story, the Times spent eight full paragraphs explaining why prosecutors believe Walker and conservatives violated state law. It wasn’t until paragraphs nine and ten that the paper noted that a federal and state judge have both shut the investigation down.

◼ Prosecutors: Gov. Walker Not Target in Probe - Media Trackers

In a stunning rebuke for state and national media, an attorney for a Wisconsin prosecutor leading a once-secret probe into conservative groups says that nothing in recently released documents should be construed as evidence of guilt. In the wake of last week’s release of records in the case, some high profile media outlets rushed to echo the partisan charge that prosecutors believe Gov. Scott Walker – a Republican – is guilty of violating state campaign finance law.

No charges have been filed as a result of the investigation, which focused on conservative groups and Gov. Walker’s campaign team. A federal and state judge have both halted the probe, which initially started in the Democrat-led Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office.

“At the time the investigation was halted, Governor Walker was not a target of the investigation. At no time has he been served with a subpoena,” Randall Crocker, an attorney for special prosecutor Francis Schmitz, told several media outlets in a statement late Thursday morning.

“While these documents outlined the prosecutor’s legal theory, they did not establish the existence of a crime; rather, they were arguments in support of further investigation to determine if criminal charges against any person or entity are warranted,” the statement said....

◼ 8 Headlines That Lie About Gov. Scott Walker and Secret Probe - Media Trackers

Late Thursday morning, an attorney for special prosecutor Francis Schmitz, who is leading a once-secret probe into conservative groups in Wisconsin, released a bombshell statement on behalf of his boss. When documents related to the probe became public last week, state and national media outlets tripped over themselves to explain how they implicated Gov. Scott Walker and showed him to be at the center of an alleged criminal scheme.

But those reporters, the stories they wrote and the headlines their editors created, got it wrong.