I would be suspicious that someone was fabricating bogus reports attributed to Reuters if they included the Democratic party affiliation of the Congressman in the headline.
What is truly astounding about this Reuters report is that the Democratic party affiliation of Rep. William Jefferson is included in the first sentence. However, note that the author of this report is unattributed in this release. That is probably done intentionally. Any good, little leftist reporter/editor at Reuters who prominently identifies a Democrat in a scandal investigation would be scorned by peers.
I hadn't thought of it that way. I looked for an author, no luck. What you're saying makes sense.