Post Buries Virginia Legislator in Statutory Rape Case

A couple of days ago we featured the story of Del. Joseph D. Morrissey (D-Henrico), the Virginia legislator convicted of having sex with an underage (17 year old) minor who worked in his office. The Washington Post found the room to feature this story, on page C7.

WashPost Buries Story of Virginia Democrat Convicted of Sex With 17-Year-Old Receptionist

When December was new, we reported that The Washington Post was incensed enough to put obscure congressional press aide Elizabeth Lauten on the front page for disparaging the Obama daughters on her personal Facebook page, while the story of a former Democratic congressional aide pleading guilty to two counts of sexual assault ended up in a 281-word article tucked away on the far-right edge of page A-5.

The Post repeated this obvious double standard on Sunday, when it buried a Democratic state legislator on page C-7: “Republicans and Democrats are calling on Del. Joseph D. Morrissey (D-Henrico) to resign from the Virginia House of Delegates after his conviction Friday on a charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.” The headline was only a bland, forgettable “Del. Morrissey urged to resign seat.”

Can you imagine the uproar in the Post if he had been a Catholic priest or, heaven forbid, a Republican?

On Tuesday, Post Metro-section columnist Petula Dvorak at least gave the Post a reason to put it on the front page of Metro, demanding he resign:

On Sunday, Morrissey — who crows about his church affiliation in his official bio — prepped everyone for a big announcement at New Kingdom Christian Ministries in Richmond. Everyone thought he would announce he was stepping down. But when he finally spoke to reporters, he said resigning “may or may not be the correct thing to do. Let God make that decision.”

Clearly a religious man, Morrisey is insisting on his innocence:

When he was charged this summer, Morrissey proclaimed his innocence. He said his phone and the girl’s phone were hacked, and the photos and the trail of text messages between them were planted.

And that time when her father tipped off police that his underage daughter was at her much older boss’s house at midnight? Well, the young woman was summoned to Morrissey’s home to discuss a “very sensitive legal matter,” one of the attorneys in the case said. According to court documents, Morrissey texted a friend of his: “Hey, buddy, I just [had intercourse with] her on my conference table and again on the floor for good measure!”

What a classy guy! Some people are just too stupid for smart phones.