Shocker: AP Identifies Sharpe James as a Democrat

Now that the trial of former Newark Mayor and State Senator Sharpe James is concluding, the Associated Press has finally discovered he's a Democrat. Granted, the reporter waits until the seventeenth paragraph, but this is progress.

James, who served as a Democratic state senator from 1999 to January 2008, is one of the most powerful figures snared in a series of corruption cases brought by the U.S. Attorney's Office, but is one of the few who has not plead guilty.

In the past several years, federal prosecutors garnered more than 100 public corruption convictions statewide of elected and appointed officials and people doing business with them, such as contractors.

A verdict in his favor would not end James' legal issues. He still faces a federal trial on charges he used city-issued credit cards to pay for $58,000 worth of personal expenses while he was mayor, including trips with several women other than his wife, to Martha's Vineyard, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Rio de Janeiro.

If you get the Yahoo version, however, there's no mention, as the story is significantly shortened.

Somehow, the fact James is a Democrat still escapes the notice of the Star Ledger.

UPI also leaves whatever readers they have left in the dark.