WaPost: White House Had Drug Officials Appear With Talent -- and KY3 Covered It

White House officials arranged for top officials at the Office of National Drug Control Policy to help Sen. Jim Talent during the months leading up to the November 2006 elections, according to a report by the Washington Post.

According to the article, officials made appearances and sometimes announced new federal grants for as many as 18 vulnerable Republican congressmen.

Drug control office director John P. Walters or his deputies held events almost almost exclusively with GOP officials, many of whom were embroiled in tough reelection campaigns, according to the report:

"Two were held with then- Sen. James M. Talent of Missouri, who was defeated last November. At one of those stops, Walters announced that four Missouri counties had been designated part of a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, which brings $500,000 in federal funding to help local law enforcement efforts, Waxman said. It was one of several grant announcements made while drug policy officials were appearing with GOP candidates."

Apparently, KY3 covered the event in question. But this event was a year before the election. With a hat tip to my assignment editor, here's the original e-mail that was sent to the station.

As mentioned on the phone, here is a media advisory with details on the news conference we'll be holding in Springfield on Monday, 11/14. This conference is the first time we are announcing this effort, which is coming to Springfield first among 23 U.S cities. We will also be showing the new public service ads publicly for the first time. I certainly hope someone from KY3 will join us. Please feel free to get in touch if you have any questions-my contact information follows.

Best regards,
Hallie
Hallie Deaktor
Deputy Director of Public Affairs
Partnership for a Drug-Free America

Time and location:
· 10 a.m., central time, Monday, November 14, 2005
· Greene County Drug Court, 1010 North Boonville Ave., Springfield, MO 65802

For security clearance and set-up, news media are advised to arrive 60 minutes prior to event launch.