Burns cleared; wreckage remains

It can be a cruel, cruel world, and sometimes the media can make it even crueler.

Did you notice that former Montana Sen. Conrad Burns was recently exonerated, in effect, from any unlawful activity related to jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

If you did notice, you are most likely part of a small minority of Montanans, because there was just one story on the matter that was carried by Montana newspapers, and most media outlets had little to say about it.

The story reported that Burns is no longer part of a Justice Department corruption probe. And it comes more than a year after Burns lost his Senate seat to Democrat Jon Tester in an election where voters certainly were influenced by more than two years of coverage over a potential scandal.

Democrats made a huge deal of that potential, often openly speculating on the possibility that Burns might some day be indicted, and how - if he was - then Montana's congressional leadership would be seriously compromised. Even some Republicans worried about it. What resulted was a two-year barrage that corroded the Burns campaign.

For certain, it was a matter that the media could not ignore, partly because former Burns staffers were indeed linked to Abramoff.

Some level of inquiry was necessary, and Burns got it here at the Inter Lake, where he insisted that he had done nothing wrong.

That's what he insisted throughout the campaign, in fact.

Burns, now working as an adviser for a Washington, D.C., lobbying firm, issued a brief statement on the Justice Department announcement.

Burns said "he never doubted that the baseless and politically motivated charges leveled against me would be found to be without merit. My family has paid a great price during this three-year period and we are thankful it is now over."

We are, too.