Much has been written and said about James O’Keefe’s incursion into Mary Landrieu’s office in Louisiana. It is interesting to me how Landrieu, through MSNBC and the mouth of David Shuster, made sure to get its spin out quickly before O’Keefe could get out of jail and to a microphone.

More interesting to me is how many on our side raced out immediately to condemn O’Keefe without knowing any facts other than those reported by MSNBC. Even a cursory glance at the initial written charges and statements made it clear that there was no wiretapping — and those documents were released nearly at the same time as the story broke. Undeterred, many on our side and the left attacked based on mis-truths generated by the left.

While we should recognize the uniqueness of the right in its effort to maintain its righteousness (the left would never have reacted in the same way), there should have been a willingness to give James O’Keefe the benefit of the doubt. Agree or disagree with his actions, think it wise or unwise, smart or stupid, it seems now pretty clear that there was no intent to commit the crimes alleged by Senator Landrieu and MSNBC.

Below the fold is his statement.

The government has now confirmed what has always been clear: no one tried to wiretap or bug Senator Landrieu’s office. Nor did we try to cut or shut down her phone lines. Reports to this effect over the past 48 hours are inaccurate and false.

As an investigative journalist, my goal is to expose corruption and lack of concern for citizens by government and other institutions, as I did last year when our investigations revealed the massive corruption and fraud perpetuated by ACORN. For decades, investigative journalists have used a variety of tactics to try to dig out and reveal the truth.

I learned from a number of sources that many of Senator Landrieu’s constituents were having trouble getting through to her office to tell her that they didn’t want her taking millions of federal dollars in exchange for her vote on the healthcare bill. When asked about this, Senator Landrieu’s explanation was that, “Our lines have been jammed for weeks.” I decided to investigate why a representative of the people would be out of touch with her constituents for “weeks” because her phones were broken. In investigating this matter, we decided to visit Senator Landrieu’s district office – the people’s office – to ask the staff if their phones were working.

On reflection, I could have used a different approach to this investigation, particularly given the sensitivities that people understandably have about security in a federal building. The sole intent of our investigation was to determine whether or not Senator Landrieu was purposely trying to avoid constituents who were calling to register their views to her as their Senator. We video taped the entire visit, the government has those tapes, and I’m eager for them to be released because they refute the false claims being repeated by much of the mainstream media.

It has been amazing to witness the journalistic malpractice committed by many of the organizations covering this story. MSNBC falsely claimed that I violated a non-existent “gag order.” The Associated Press incorrectly reported that I “broke in” to an office which is open to the public. The Washington Post has now had to print corrections in two stories on me. And these are just a few examples of inaccurate and false reporting. The public will judge whether reporters who can’t get their facts straight have the credibility to question my integrity as a journalist.