Why Moose quit

If you get your news anywhere but WorldNetDaily, you may be wondering why Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose quit.

Moose was proclaimed a “hero” by the media for his role in capturing the D.C. sniper suspects.

But was he a hero?

He certainly looked the part out there conducting those daily press conferences during the three weeks snipers paralyzed the Washington area.

But, later, a series of investigative stories by WorldNetDaily Washington bureau chief Paul Sperry certainly raised questions.

On the very day he resigned, WorldNetDaily broke a story about the way Moose used his position as police chief and the threat of a racism charge against the Marriott Corp. to hustle a $200,000 settlement from the hotel chain over a security check.

A week earlier, Sperry broke a story about Moose’s complaints that he didn’t earn as much as the police chief of Atlanta.

But it may have been a story broken a day earlier that was Moose’s undoing. That was the one that explained how Moose was demoralizing his own department.

Four days earlier, there was the story about whether Moose would have to return money he accepted for a movie consulting fee.

A day before that, it was Mrs. Moose pleading for a special exemption from ethics rules because she and her husband needed more antiques in their home.

Then there was the consulting firm he set up four weeks after the sniper suspects were caught.

Then it was Mrs. Moose, again, immodestly comparing her husband to Martin Luther King, Jr.

Before that it was the police union investigating the way Moose handled the sniper investigation.

Then there was the story about the way Moose tried to persuade witnesses they saw something other than what they actually saw during the sniper probe.

Before that it was the story of how police ignored reports of eyewitnesses as to the race of the sniper suspects.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There were also these stories:

• Secret sniper stake-out puts lie to Moose claim

• Cops: Chief Moose withheld look-out on sniper suspects

• Moose denies blocking police pay raise

• Beltway sniper likely foreign

I’m sure there are plenty of people scratching their heads today wondering why Moose would quit. They never saw these stories because they don’t read WorldNetDaily, and few of these stories were picked up by other media.

But you knew, didn’t you?

You knew the minute you heard the report that the chief had resigned that it was because of the unrelenting heat he endured from primarily one news agency.

And that’s the value of WorldNetDaily. That’s the power of the New Media. That’s the positive side of a truly free press.

I just thought I would take a minute to remind you of all this. It’s easy to forget. I didn’t hear any of our colleagues lauding WorldNetDaily’s intrepid coverage of the Moose scandals. I didn’t hear a single mention of WorldNetDaily. I didn’t read one in any press account. So, I thought I would set the record straight right here – at least for the people who already understand.

Moose may not be much of a hero, after all. But I will nominate reporter Paul Sperry as a journalistic hero for sticking with a story few colleagues wanted to see.

It made a difference.