Story of the Day: Threatened Rove IT Guru Dies Tragically, MSM MIA

(updated below)

Philosophical corporate media question: If the biggest potential whistle-blower since "Deep Throat" dies an untimely death and the mainstream media doesn't cover it, did it really happen?

Last Friday evening, Michael Connell, a top IT consultant to Karl Rove, the Bush administration and the Republican National Party died when his single-engine plane crashed into a vacant house in Ohio. No one else was on board. Connell, Rove's IT guru, created the alternate email system for the White House -- the one about which the Bush administration claims an untold number of emails were destroyed -- and was set to testify as a key witness in a lawsuit claiming fraud in the 2004 Presidential Election in Ohio, in which he was alleged to have helped electronically flip votes.

It is Tuesday morning, four days after Connell's plane fell from the sky. What could possibly be the mainstream media's justification for so conspicuously ignoring a story of this magnitude?

According to a LexisNexis search conducted by MediaBloodhound, the extent of US national media coverage, in which Connell is both named as the man who died in the crash and is at least acknowledged to have worked for the Bush administration, consists of one 130-word Associated Press story. It called Connell a "Republican media consultant who helped operate campaign Web sites for President Bush and former presidential nominee John McCain." It also reported, "Connell was the CEO and founder of Cleveland-based New Media Communications, which built campaign Web sites for Bush and McCain, according to the company's Web site. The site says the company also worked with the Ohio Republican Party, the Republican National Committee and other political groups."

That's it. The rest of the information regarded details of the plane crash.

All suspicions of foul play aside -- and while none are being alleged here, it would be neither responsible nor logical, given the context, to rule anything out until more facts are known -- consider what we already do know.

Investigative journalist Larisa Alexandrovna has since gone public that Connell was a major source in her investigation into the email system he set up and related matters. Pertaining to the "destroyed" White House emails, she said that "what Connell is alleged to have done is move these files to other servers after having allegedly scrubbed the files from all "known" Karl Rove accounts."

Alexandrovna also wrote, "I have reason to believe that the alternate accounts were used to communicate with US Attorneys involved in political prosecutions, like that of Don Siegelman" and "Mike was getting ready to talk. He was frightened." She said she visited Connell's home and he'd confided to her that he was being threatened, "something that his attorneys also told the judge in the Ohio election fraud case."

We have the email that attorney Cliff Arnebeck sent to Attorney General Michael Mukasey on July 24, 2008, expressly requesting protection for his client: "We have been confidentially informed by a source we believe to be credible that Karl Rove has threatened Michael Connell, a principal witness we have identified in our King Lincoln case in federal court in Columbus, Ohio, that if he does not agree to 'take the fall' for election fraud in Ohio, his wife Heather will be prosecuted for supposed lobby law violations." (Read full email here; scroll down after jump.) Five months passed; Mukasey never provided protection.

19 Action News in Cleveland reported that Connell "was apparently told by a close friend not to fly his plane because his plane might be sabotaged." Calling Connell's death "untimely," 19 Action News reporter Blake Chenault also reported, "And twice in the last two months Connell, who is an experienced pilot, cancelled two flights because of suspicious problems with his plane."

Connell was allegedly a linchpin in the biggest maze of White House scandal this country's ever seen, yet the national news media is a no-show.

What caused Connell's crash is only one piece of this story. One that, as in many such stories, may or may never be confirmed. Pilot error? Aircraft malfunction? Weather conditions? Foul play? Suicide? Heart attack? A thorough investigation needs to take place. Part of what the media should be doing is making sure that happens.

But everything that has already been confirmed, having nothing to do with the crash, should also have the national media covering this with at least as much gusto as "BlaggoGate" or, say, Britney's comeback or Brangelina's pre-nup. So far, though, in a replay of journalistic fecklessness rife during the Bush years, mum's the word.

UPDATE: Apparently, not long after I posted this piece, CBS/AP actually published a fairly substantive article (h/t Brad Friedman) on the Connell story. This is encouraging, and CBS and the AP deserve credit for getting the ball rolling in the mainstream. Let's hope such coverage builds and doesn't end here. We'll definitely check back after some holiday cheer and see how this shakes out in the coming days.

Comments

[Brad Jacobson]

Threatened Rove IT Guru Dies Tragically, MSM MIA

[Dan, Sacramento]

Tragically. Oh, yeah. That's the word. "Conveniently" might also be a synonym. But who's quibbling?

[bushisaliar]

one more death in the wake of the putrid bushcrimefamily

[tofubo]

but the meadea has, for the past few days, played over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over the plan that skidded of the runway and the de-icing incident

so they're exonerated on this issue

[Thomas in PA]

Raw Story had a 'well attended' article about this, but now they too have gone dumb like the rest of the MSM. Are they ALL afraid they will get 'Wellstoned' too? How many truly evil people do they think are out there taking down our republic? Thank you for posting this story. Please follow up with any more on the subject. It is vital as it gets.

[Louis Vuitton Outlet]

Nike Air Jordan can be a Gucci outlet renowned manufacturer label engrossed in fabricating fashionable Gucci outlet online couple for offspring, older individuals, men, and ladies. Gucci sale.

Nike Air Jordan is frequently popular as Jordan Concords during the small configuration and is also pretty admired Jordan 11 Concord and acknowledged due to products created of chic sports Jordan Retro 11 Concord activities boots who have rake in globally acknowledgement Jordan Retro 10 for being very resilient and cozy. Jordan 10 The label on the money gathering is supported about the label of Jordan 10 Chicago its holder Michael Jordan who was an amateur of latest Louis Vuitton Outlet solution footwear; he employed to get well-known Cheap Louis Vuitton Sale as being a faultless icon in the most recent strategy marketplace.

He commenced up New Orleans Saints Jerseys in 1985, the monetary gathering was commenced with Youth Saints Jersey some staff that everlasting fetched new creations Women's Saints Jersey for the business. But using the means of time Custom Saints Jersey boots received globally credits Custom NFL Jerseys and a great number of paying out clientele Customized NFL Jerseys who ended up most up-to-date tactic savvy Personalized NFL Jerseys population and preferred to put on boots of surplus well worth and content.

Now, using under consideration the Christian Louboutin Sale qualifications the fiscal gathering has, I Christian Louboutin Shoes ought declare that Nike Air Jordan has become toiling while in the wares of flexible Louboutin Shoes specifics which might be getting designed for people getting Louboutin Sale.

Assorted purely natural world about vogue Cheap Jordans and hope to produce a group on their couple of boot properly by Jordan 11 shopping into latest fashion. Nike Air Jordan 's boots are obtainable Jordan Retro 11 in divergent range- they offer a large kind of boots in divergent hues,Jordan XI creations, profile, and of course in divergent selling price. The cost construction of the boots differs from one method of Jordan 11 Concord a further; this really is fully approximately your possibility and likings.

When your allocation Cheap True Religion Jeans sanctions you to depart for remarkably charge boots with the True Religion Jeans then you definately should depart for it, since the finest,True Religion Cheap the standard.Any person who professes True Religion Outlet to love basketball just isn't a real follower of your game if he will not know the exploits of the best athlete who actually performed the game.

Just after all, you can find conceivably no Uggs On Sale basketball admirer who doesn't know the fame and exploits Ugg On Sale of Michael Jordan.

Even individuals that have been born Uggs following his retirement continue to be attentive to the echoes of the Jordan Uggs Outlet period as manifested from the acceptance of Uggs Boots quantity 23 in basketball jerseys, inside Uggs On Sale the variety of vain tries to emulate gliding from the Cheap Jordans air for a dunk that only His Airness can execute, and of Jordan 7 course, from the enormous recognition of Jordan sneakers hoping Jordan Retro 7 that some regular kid from an not known corner of the world Jordan 13 will someday have the game during the method that Michael Louis Vuitton Jordan did.

Michael Jordan's fame pass on not Louis Vuitton Outlet merely in the basketball courts he performed on, New Nike Air Jordans Shoes from his School days at Cheap Jordans North Carolina as many as his time for the NBA together with the Abercrombie And fitch Outlet and also the Abercrombie And fitch Online Washington Wizards, even at Spain for the 1992 Cheap Abercrombie And fitch Barcelona Olympics.

In each one of these locations and time, nike free run acquired repute for staying a fearless executioner with the most nike frees tricky photographs that has a penchant for taking the sport cheap nike free profitable shot once the game is about the line, and in Cheap NFL Jerseys inspiring his teammates to excel to NFL Jerseys greater heights. This only triggered men and women to Cheap Jerseys flock to watch him play, widening his
Nike Dunks base of supporters. For that reason, what's more, it enlarged the repute of Jordan sneakers, which has Nike Air Maxturn into carefully determined using the gentleman. As Air Max Shoesa result, Air Jordans happen to be worn all over Cheap Supras the place, with most hoping to at the very least Supras Shoes
emulate a number of his remarkable difficult court moves.