Doubtful. Would have been leaked when he was in Iraq, or speaking with the Labor party in England.
I think this is the scenario...Daily Gazette reporter hears rumor locally (amazing it was quiet for so long!). Asks for the court record. Comes to local DA's attention. Fires the assistant who made the secret deal. (There was also a similar local complaint about a secret case against a doctor.) The first stories focused on the firing of the assistant, Ritter just part of the background.