Associated Press Headline Casts Official House Hearing On Benghazi as 'GOP Hearing'

The Associated Press could not very well ignore today's hearing at which whistleblowers are testifying as to the events surrounding the Benghazi attack and the Obama administration's failed response thereto.  So AP did the next best thing from its liberal perspective: it downplayed the hearing's significance, casting it as a purely partisan event in its headline as a "GOP hearing."

That is not mere MSM spin: it is blatant journalistic malpractice.  This is not some unofficial hearing held under Republican auspices.  It is an entirely official hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.  Yes, there has in recent times been a faux House "hearing" held by a political party for partisan purposes.  That would be the "hearing" held by Democrats in February 2012, featuring Sandra Fluke.  More after the jump.

Note: from the time that I first noticed the headline and before this item was posted, AP changed it to to the slightly more neutral "Lawmakers trade political charges on Benghazi." Even that headline casts the hearing in a political light rather than reporting that real questions of competence and cover-up are at stake.  But the original headline is still out there on the web, as you'll see in the screencap here.

Note Two:  The "GOP hearing" hearing headline was not something stuck on an AP story by some other news outlet publishing the report.  Although it has now disappeared, I found at this official AP news site.