Covering every angle

AP is reporting about Sun-Kyung Cho, the sister of Cho Seung-Hui, the man responsible for the rampage in Virginia this week.

WASHINGTON - The sister of the gunman responsible for the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history works as a contractor for a State Department office that oversees billions of dollars in American aid for Iraq.

Sun-Kyung Cho is employed by the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office, according to U.S. officials and a State Department staff directory that says she works from an annex near the department's headquarters in Washington.

Messages left on her office voicemail, in which she identifies herself as "Sun Cho," were not immediately returned on Wednesday.

The Virginia Tech gunman was her brother, Cho Seung-Hui. Thirty-three people died in the rampage Monday, including the 23-year-old student, who committed suicide.

Spokesman Sean McCormack declined to discuss Sun Cho's status but told reporters "this person is not a direct-hire employee of the State Department." He declined to comment further, citing privacy concerns. Other U.S. officials confirmed she works for a contractor.

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"Our mission is to support the sovereign, democratic rights of the Iraqi people to govern themselves, defend their country, and rebuild their economy," the office says in its recruiting brochure. "This ongoing mission is one that is unprecedented in size and scope."

Sun Cho's current job is her third stint with the State Department, according to Princeton University, where she graduated with an economics major in 2004.

Michelle Malkin writes about the above story-

The Associated Press has decided to hound the VTech maniac's sister. Why? Is there evidence that she knew of his plans or was aware of his murderous tendencies? No. The AP doesn't report that. Instead, the entire article focuses on her employment in the Bush State Department. And this is relevant how?

My own take on what AP did is that wanted to cover the Blacksburg story from every angle. That includes the killer's family. Since Ms. Cho was unavailable for comment, AP therefore reported whatever they could find out on their own about the sister.

This reporting doesn't really bother me. On the other hand the photo here I find disturbing. It shows the distraught family of Partahi Lumbantoruan, one of those killed on Monday. Couldn't the photographer and wire services leave this family alone rather than plaster them across the wire services and internet?

Linked to- Right Wing Nation, Third World County, Yankee Sailor,