Guess who fell for a Code Pinko, Blackwater-bashing hoax?

Via Michell Malkin:

MSM journalists have layers and layers and layers of editorial fact-checkers. They are trained professionals. You are untrained amateurs. They remind us of their place and our place every chance they can–and with maximum sanctiony.

So, how is it that The Professionals fell for a Code Pink, Blackwater-bashing hoax more obvious than a nosebleed on a white tissue?

All the ingredients were there:

Blackwater Derangement? Check.
Neocon quote? Check.
Anti-military undertone? Check.

Ben Johnson at Frontpage Magazine recounts how the Pinkos released a fake Blackwater press release announcing the creation of a “Department of Corporate Integrity.

The Associated Press (no surprise), CBS News (no surprise), and Politico.com all lapped it up.
Phony remarks were attributed to conservative author Max Boot, Blackwater CEO Eric Prince, and “Kitty Laver,” a pseudonym for Pinko leader Medea Benjamin. The B.S. detectors should have been set off by this text from the fake press release:

“Blackwater has become synonymous with mercenary, but the public doesn’t understand that mercenary has actually be a positive term throughout history,” said Max Boot of the Council of Foreign Affairs.

…Directing the new Department of Public Integrity is Kitty Laver, who has 20 years’ experience in public relations and corporate responsibility. “My job is to put the mercy back in mercenary,” says Laver.

If that doesn’t scream moonbat, nothing does.