just another crooked republican ....Reverend???
Reporter Accepted Money From Candidate
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By Associated Press
February 14, 2005, 5:33 PM EST
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A reporter and columnist for a black Kansas City newspaper accepted $1,500 from the congressional campaign of the Rev. Emanuel Cleaver, the former mayor elected to the House in November.
Eric Wesson reported on the campaign for The Call and also wrote editorials that praised Cleaver, who is black, and criticized his Democratic primary rival and later his Republican opponent.
Kansas City's alternative weekly newspaper, The Pitch, reported on the payment in October. The Washington Post ran the story Monday in the wake of news that three conservative columnists were paid by the federal government to promote Bush administration policies.
Both papers said Cleaver's campaign paid $1,500 last summer to One Goal Consultants, a company that Wesson owns, according to state records.
Wesson on Monday declined to comment to The Associated Press. He told The Post he wrote scripts for Cleaver's phone banks and did "other miscellaneous things" for the campaign.
"It had nothing to do with the job I do for The Call," Wesson said. "The Call has always written articles favorable to African-American candidates. We're an advocacy newspaper."
Cleaver issued a statement Monday saying his campaign would not have other such arrangements with reporters.
"I am committed to upholding the highest ethical standards," he said.
The Call has endorsed Cleaver for every political office he has sought in his 30-year political career, which included two terms as the city's first black mayor.