RoguePlanet

Whoever, having devised any scheme or artifice to defraud transmits or causes to be transmitted by means of wire, radio or television communication in interstate or foreign commerce, any writings for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both. " U.S. Criminal Code, Chapter 63, Section 1343.

WASHINGTON — At the root of what is today treated as an embarrassing blunder by the duped Fox network may turn out to be a felony by its faithless Kerry campaign correspondent.

Some person or persons conceived a scheme to create a series of false Kerry quotes and embed them in a news story as actual Kerry quotes. The perpetrator then helped cause the fraudulent file to be transmitted by means of Internet communication to millions of voters for the purpose of influencing a federal election.

That was no mere "dirty trick"; it could be a violation of the U.S. criminal code. If the artifice had not been revealed by sharp-eyed bloggers, a national election could have been swung by a blatant falsehood.

We know who the faker was. Did others conspire with him or her to present phony Kerry quotes - with knowledge of their falsity and with intent to defraud, which is a felony in Florida? Who was to benefit and how?

Fox News apologized and offered the excuse that its reporter was "fatigued." That's a start, albeit a lame one.

What benefit did the Kerry-hating Cameron gain from the Bush campaign in return for his fake Kerry quotes, drawn straight from the Bush campaign's talking points? One plausible answer: he will receive coveted access to someone high up in the Bush campaign. Or perhaps the rewards would have accrued to his wife, who has actively campaigned for Bush.

What should Fox do now? First, release all of Cameron's notes in their entirety; viewers are entitled to know how extensive Cameron's bias is. Second, let the supervisor who permitted Cameron's phony story to be posted as an actual story on Fox's website speak to reporters. Third, expend some Fox resources to track down the potential collaborators in the fraud.

We have hard evidence of crimes by low-level operatives here, including wire fraud, as well as the potential of high-level political involvement. Is no prosecutor prepared to enforce the law?

Liberals should stop slavering over Carl Cameron's scalp, and conservatives should stop pretending that noble ends justify fake-quote means. Both should focus on the lesson of the early 70's: from third-rate burglaries to fourth-rate fake quotes, nobody gets away with trying to corrupt American elections.