On October 1, 2011, the Washington Post’s Stephanie McCrummen authored a story for publication in the Post concerning Texas Governor Perry’s lease of a hunting spot with an offensive name. Although a careful read of the story shows that there is no substantiation for the allegations of racism, Ms. McCrummen, the Post, and MSNBC have held a non-stop witch hunt, accusing Mr. Perry of everything under the sun. So, let’s examine the author using the same journalistic standards practiced by the Washington Post.

Ms. McCrummen has a rather interesting criminal history herself, as public criminal records in multiple states stretching across 4 time zones have shown.

Ms. McCrummen’s criminal history began with North Carolina Case # 1992 CR 00654, a violation of the Article 19 – False Pretenses and Cheats section of the North Carolina Criminal Code. Ms. McCrummen was convicted of a crime punishable by up to six months of imprisonment for writing a hot check that was deemed worthless.

In 2005, the apparently unrepentant Ms. McCrummen was again found guilty in the 2005 Virginia Case #059GT0504714900 for failing to obey a highway sign. 

The following year, McCrummen was found guilty in yet another Virginia criminal case, #153GT0604021200, speeding 46 miles an hour in a 25 mile speed zone. 

Last year, in August, 2010, Ms. McCrummen was found guilty in Arizona Case # M-07510TR-2010025209 of speeding once again. She plead guilty but failed to pay the fine imposed by the court and returned to Washington having skipped out on paying her fine to the criminal court. A collection review was held in September, after she had escaped Arizona’s jurisdiction to D.C., and her case was assigned to the Fines/Fees and Restitution Enforcement (FARE) Program established to collect delinquent court ordered restitution, fines, fees, and surcharges . After the FARE team tracked her down at her Washington D.C. apartment, they finally appeared to get her attention and on October 23, 2010 she paid the defaulted fine to the criminal court, almost two months after her conviction. McCrummen has now found herself a four-time loser in the states’ criminal courts. She currently resides outside of the jurisdiction of the three states where she committed her crimes. 

As you can see from this simple outline of Ms. Stephanie McCrummen’s past, under the Post’s journalistic standards, it is pretty easy to throw mud on someone even if they didn’t do anything truly wrong. Over the years, the journalistic standards of the Washington Post have fallen into a death spiral of innuendo and name calling, as seen in McCrummen’s ni**erhead story. They can create guilt out of thin air as we have in the public records concerning the Post Staff Writer in question. The Post should quit its despicable methodology of reporting the news. For now, Ms. McCrummen and the Post owe Governor Perry an apology. 

Mike Robinson is Sr. Partner at Robinson & Henry P.C., a Castle Rock, CO Law Firm. Ph. 303-688-0944.