CNN's Costello ignored failed Bush nominee's private-sector severance

On the May 23 edition of CNN's The Situation Room, contributor Carol Costello reported that manufacturing industry lobbyist Michael Baroody "is withdrawing his nomination as President Bush's pick to head the Consumer Product Safety Commission," and asserted: "Some Senate Democrats strongly opposed him, saying that as a lobbyist for the National Association of Manufacturers, he is not the right person to fight for consumers. But the Bush administration says Baroody has an impressive record of doing just that." However, Costello left out a crucial element of the conflict-of-interest charges surrounding Baroody's nomination: that he was set to receive a $150,000 severance package from the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). By contrast, numerous other outlets noted the objections over Baroody's severance package in their coverage of his withdrawal.

A May 16 New York Times article first reported the severance payment, noting that Baroody "will receive a $150,000 departing payment from the association when he takes his new government job, which involves enforcing consumer laws against members of the association." The article further noted that, according to government ethics experts, "people occasionally received a severance payment when they left the private sector for a government job, but it could be problematic when the person was going to a post whose mission was to regulate the former employer."

Reporting on Baroody's withdrawal on the May 23 edition of Fox News' Special Report, host Brit Hume asserted that "Senate Democrats ... brought up potential conflict-of-interest issues and questioned the $150,000 payment Baroody would have taken when he left" NAM.

Additionally, articles in the May 24 editions of The Washington Post, The New York Times, and USA Today also noted Baroody's severance package.

The Times reported the payment in the first paragraph of its May 24 article:

A senior lobbyist at the National Association of Manufacturers withdrew his nomination to head the Consumer Product Safety Commission on Wednesday as a growing number of senators questioned both his suitability and a $150,000 departure payment that the association was preparing to give him.

The Post reported the payment in the second paragraph of its May 24 article:

Michael E. Baroody, executive vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers, delivered a letter to Bush asking to have the nomination withdrawn, in the face of a fresh wave of outrage stemming from news reports that NAM planned to give Baroody a $150,000 severance package.

The May 24 USA Today article noted that critics of Baroody's nomination "questioned a $150,000 severance payment that Baroody will receive from NAM when he leaves the association."

From the May 23, 4 p.m. ET, edition of CNN's The Situation Room:

COSTELLO: The White House said he was the right man to protect you, the consumer, but some were not so sure. Now Michael Baroody is withdrawing his nomination as President Bush's pick to head the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Some Senate Democrats strongly opposed him, saying that as a lobbyist for the National Association of Manufacturers, he is not the right person to fight for consumers. But the Bush administration says Baroody has an impressive record of doing just that.

From the May 23 edition of Fox News' Special Report with Brit Hume:

HUME: President Bush's choice to head the Consumer Product Safety Commission withdrew his nomination today. Michael Baroody is a lobbyist with the National Association of Manufacturers, and that put him at odds with some Senate Democrats. They brought up potential conflict-of-interest issues and questioned the $150,000 payment Baroody would have taken when he left the organization. The White House said it would start looking for a new candidate immediately.

—R.C.