Last Saturday all New Jersey newspapers had lead stories about the federal government serving subpoenas on New Jersey's elected officials. In reviewing the stories from the Associated Press and Gannett they appeared similar. The Star-Ledger however had a scoop citing sources with direct knowledge of the probe. They also included the following quote from Assemblyman Kevin O'Toole (R-Essex), "Trenton is on fire..this is the equivalent to Rome burning". They went on to explain that the subpoenas were related to an investigation into Senator Wayne Bryant that had expanded. The sources told the newspaper that they were looking to see if any lawmakers had steered money towards non profit organizations that they would directly benefit from.
The problem I have is that the Star-Ledger only gives us half the story but must know more by the way the story is written. The newspaper says the subpoenas only date back to 2004 but gives no explanation why. The quote used to illustrate the dire straits is not clarified. The reader can not understand why an elected official believes this is such a disastrous occurrence. It appears that the writers and the lawmaker realize the true impact of the subpoenas but fail to tell us what it is. It makes me believe that the writer knows what the subpoenas will uncover but wants to hold off telling us as if this is some suspense thriller or mini series. The writers who cover this beat must know what money was steered to questionable projects but fail to share that with us. If you cite sources with direct knowledge you owe the public more direct knowledge.
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-11/117169056125890
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