Free Republic

USA Today Found Hoax Before Writer Confessed Former USA Today correspondent Jack Kelley acknowledged through his attorney yesterday that his confession to deceiving his newspaper during an investigation of his reporting came only after being presented with evidence of what he had done. The newspaper, meanwhile, now says that Kelley was forced to quit. SNIP Although USA Today has examined several Kelley stories, the focus remains on his 1999 front-page report that human rights activist Natasa Kandic, who was not named in the article, had obtained "a Yugoslav army three-ring notebook" that "contains a direct order to a lieutenant to...

KURTZ: USA TODAY REPORTER PANICKED Sat Jan 10 2004 19:49:51 ET USA Today correspondent Jack Kelley resigned Tuesday after an investigation of his work -- after he "panicked and used poor judgment" during the probe, the WASHINGTON POST is planning to report on Sunday. According to newsroom sources, the POST's Howard Kurtz will report: "In an effort to prove that he had spoken with a human rights activist in Yugoslavia, Kelley said in an interview, he encouraged a translator who was not present during the 1999 sit-down to impersonate another translator who was there. The woman who agreed to help...