Reporting on President Bush's “new declaration” of confidence in Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales amid the controversy surrounding the dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys, a March 25 Washington Post article quoted M. Edward Whelan III saying that he sees “no reason to believe that there's something that amounts to scandal” in the firings. The article further quoted Whelan saying: “Sensible minds at the White House would recognize that throwing Gonzales overboard would give the opposition bloodlust. ... The next two years would consist of paralyzing investigations.” But the Post did not inform its readers of Whelan's background, which includes three years in the Bush Justice Department.

While the article identified Whelan as “a former Justice Department official,” the Post gave no indication when he had served and in which administration. In fact, from 2001-2004, he served as the principal deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel. According to his bio at the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), where he serves as president, Whelan “advised the White House Counsel's Office,” including, presumably, Gonzales, who was White House counsel prior to being sworn in as Attorney General in 2005. The bio also noted that Whelan advised “the Attorney General and other senior DOJ officials” in the Bush administration during that time.

While the article reported that Whelan is the “president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center,” it failed to note that the EPPC is a conservative think tank that purports to be “dedicated to applying the Judeo-Christian moral tradition to critical issues of public policy.” Moreover, Whelan regularly writes on legal issues for the conservative National Review Online's Bench Memos weblog.

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