Petrelis Files

NYT Errs: Terror Chief Brennan
Gave $2,800 to Obama

In today's front-page New York Times article on the U.S. and Britain closing their embassies in Yemen due to terrorism threats, the paper reported the following about John O. Brennan, President Barack Obama's counterterrorism chief, and his claim regarding his political leanings:

Insisting he was neither Democrat nor Republican, Mr. Brennan accused Mr. Cheney of either “mischaracterizing” Mr. Obama’s views or being “ignorant” of what the administration was doing to fight Al Qaeda.

According to the transcript from Sunday's Meet The Press broadcast, Brennan made the following statement, in response to former Vice President Dick Cheney's criticism against the current administration's handling of the nation's battle against terror:

I'm very disappointed in the vice president's comments. I'm neither Republican nor Democrat.

Brennan may think this is true, but his Federal Election Commission file tells a different story. Over at Newsmeat.com, records show that when Brennan was president of the Analysis Corporation of Virginia, he donated $2,300 to Obama in January 2008 and $500 in September of that year, for a total of $2,800. A second verification of the giving comes from OpenSecrets.org.

Okay, technically one can be an independent voter and donate to a major party's presidential candidate, and not consider himself a member of the politician's party. But many Americans would probably say making such a hefty donation to Obama in his run for the White House does qualify the individual as a Democrat, or one with strong Democratic Party leanings.

How the heck could the Times' reporters not look up Brennan's FEC file, see he donated $2,800 to the Democratic Party presidential wannabe, and pose some follow up questions to him regarding his party affiliation?