Are Dems Sacrificing Murtha For Pelosi?

Can it be? Are the Democrats and their public relations wing (the press) throwing Murtha under the bus to distract from the fact that Democrat Speaker of the House has said that the CIA routinely lies to Congress and deliberately planted false evidence against her years ago in their records to contradict her on waterboarding terrorists?

Kinda looks that way to me. Also, you'll kindly note the Friday afternoon release, a well-established trick of the media and politicians:

A Pennsylvania defense contractor who got millions of dollars in congressional earmarks from Rep. John Murtha has been blocked from doing business with the Navy amid allegations of fraud.

Word of the suspension came during an annual trade show featuring defense contractors gathered in Johnstown, Pa., the heart of Murtha's congressional district. Seven of the world's largest defense contractors, who have been among the veteran Pennsylvania Democrat's biggest campaign contributors over the years, helped bankroll the "Showcase for Commerce."

During a brief news conference Friday at the Johnstown event, Murtha turned aside questions about the suspension of Kuchera Defense Systems Inc., a family-run business that has supported him with $60,000 to his campaign and to his political action committee since 2002.

Over the past two years, Murtha has secured $14.7 million in congressionally directed funds known as "earmarks" for Kuchera to perform work for the military, a tiny slice of Murtha's earmarks overall.

Asked about Kuchera's troubles, Murtha said, "What's that got to do with me? What do you think, I'm supposed to oversee these companies? That's not my job. That's the Defense Department's job."...

At the Pentagon, Navy spokesman Lt. Clay Doss said the Navy suspended Kuchera Defense Systems on April 23 for "alleged fraud, including multiple incidents of incorrect charges, defective pricing and ethical violations." Doss declined to elaborate.

Kuchera is one of two firms with longtime ties to Murtha that were raided by the FBI in recent months in a Justice Department criminal investigation of campaign fundraising involving defense contractors.

In the last two years alone, Murtha has directed $78 million in earmarks to clients of a Washington-area lobbying firm, PMA, the second business that the FBI recently raided. A former staffer on Murtha's subcommittee, Paul Magliocchetti, left Capitol Hill to start the lobbying firm in 1989, the same year Murtha became chairman of the subcommittee.

From 2005 through 2007, more than one out of every five dollars Murtha collected in campaign contributions came from PMA lobbyists or their clients — over a million dollars in all, according to Federal Election Commission records.

In a 15-month span ending March 31, employees of the seven defense contractors sponsoring the Johnstown show this week put over $200,000 into Murtha's campaign account. The seven are Lockheed Martin Corp., the Boeing Co., BAE Systems PLC, Northrop Grumman Corp., General Dynamics Corp., Raytheon Co. and DRS Technologies Inc...

Oh, you bet I'll have my ears pricked for coverage in our dailies and be comparing it to the attack dog reporting surrounding Ted Stevens and Duke Cunningham. You betcha!