Why no coverage of Human Rights Campaign co-founder’s indictment?

Doubtful you’ve heard about Human Rights Campaign co-founder and board member Terry Bean and his indictment on charges of sodomy and sexual abuse related to what authorities said was an encounter with a 15-year-old male.

And why not? It’s part of a continuing media double standard when it comes to covering Republicans and Democrats.

{mosads}Bean, 66, is a prominent supporter of the president, having raised more than a half a million dollars for the president’s reelection campaign. He appeared in front of a Eugene, Ore., judge yesterday and pleaded not guilty to all charges. Both he and his ex-boyfriend, 25-year-old Kiah Lawson, were arrested last month and charged with two counts of third-degree sodomy and one count of third-degree sexual abuse. Lawson also pleaded not guilty to all counts.

The Oregonian reported the charges relate to an alleged encounter the two had with a 15-year-old boy. Bean’s attorney says Bean is the “victim of an extortion ring.”

Let me get this right. The co-founder of a group that protects gay, lesbian and transgender rights and a big-time Obama supporter allegedly violates a juvenile’s rights, and there’s no national coverage?

Conservative columnist Michelle Malkin cries foul, saying that if Bean were a Republican, “he’d be a household name by now” and “his face would be splashed all over the covers of grocery-stand newsweeklies.” And, more important, “child-welfare advocates would be demanding his resignation.”

And she’s right. Why hasn’t this come to the attention of the mainstream media? Maybe it will now. Watch me discuss it tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern on “The O’Reilly Factor.”

Ashburn is an award-winning Washington-based reporter and TV analyst covering media and politics.