Imagine a time when the government would come down on a citizen and force her into a legal battle which would exhaust her life savings and strip her of her good name.

That time is now.

Republican partisan and US Attorney Steven Biskupic did just that when he went after state administrator Georgia Thompson with the flimsiest of arguments. Biskupic claimed that Thompson steered lucrative travel contracts to Adelman Travel whose owners were also donors to the campaign of Governor Jim Doyle.

Biskupic’s stormtrooperesque efforts were an attempt to smear Doyle right before the election. Unfortunately the mainstream media owes Thompson a huge apology for reporting the GOP press releases as though they were fact. The result is the destruction of Georgia Thompson’s life in an era when we should all know better. Americans were right to hope that reporting had changed since the baseless rantings of former Senator Joe McCarthy were reported as fact.

Here’s another rub — Adelman Travel was the winner of that contract not because of the sole decision of Thompson, but because they had the lowest reasonable bid. Yes, another business was close but their score didn’t put them ahead.

The federal government, whose partisan attack dog persecuted Thompson, should reimburse her for her legal fees. The media who “reported” allegations as facts needs to regain their credibility by apologizing.