The Susanna Gibson sex-for-money scandal has, to say the least, been one of the more eye-opening stories to come across the news wires this week. And not just because of what was revealed about the online setup the Virginia House of Delegates Democratic nominee and her husband had to make money off of their sexual acts, but also because of how the press has treated the story.

Surprisingly enough, the Washington Post was the first to go up with their exclusive story on Monday, Sept. 11, and that was followed up by one later in the day by The Daily Wire, which said they had "independently obtained the videos."

But as the media/Dem-driven debate has swirled since about whether the revelations about the videos (and the obtaining of them by media outlets) constitute a violation of Virginia revenge porn laws, a backstory has emerged alleging that one news organization knew in advance that the story would soon be breaking, but that instead of reporting it at the time they chose instead to alert Gibson that it was coming, which afforded her time to try and hide the evidence.

That organization? The Associated Press, according to The Daily Wire:

Correspondence viewed by The Daily Wire shows the Associated Press was tipped off about the pornographic content on September 5, but chose not to do anything with the story. It did, however, make Gibson aware of the videos, which she appears to have had taken down in the days after the Associated Press alerted her that they had been discovered.

The outlet did not cover the videos until September 12, after it had already been reported by others.

The Daily Wire bombshell on Susanna Gibson, the VA Dem who talked about forcing unsuspecting hotel staff to take part in her porn & solicited payments on publicly live-streamed videos so users could "watch me pee":

"Correspondence viewed by The Daily Wire shows the Associated… pic.twitter.com/81aWx2WbCo

— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) September 15, 2023

As of this writing, there's been no comment from the Associated Press on any of their Twitter feeds addressing the allegation that they warned her in advance and sat on this story until after it was reported by other outlets. But it wouldn't surprise me one bit if they claim at some point they held off because they were trying to go through their normal verification process in the interest of journalistic integrity or whatever.

But as RedState readers are well aware at this point, the AP's standards like many others in the legacy media revolve around reporting first, asking questions later when it comes to alleged Republican wrongdoing. When it comes to Democrats, however, much different rules (like the one where they make the bigger story the "pouncing and seizing" by Republicans) apply.

The same goes for that AP verification process, which for Democrats involves either keeping the story under wraps until they can no longer do so, or downplaying it as no big deal, something we've seen play out repeatedly on the Joe Biden/Hunter Biden allegations going back to the days of Biden's 2020 presidential candidacy.

In any event, how voters respond to the Gibson sex tape news at the ballot box is anyone's guess. But how news consumers should view so-called respectable media outlets allegedly suppressing stories in the interest of assisting a Democrat with their political campaign should be crystal clear: With nothing but earned contempt and distrust.

The Associated Press, along with the rest of legacy media, function primarily as the PR arm of the DNC. It would be impossible for you to have too much contempt for them. https://t.co/14xCaEzyOK

— doctor moron (@MoronDoctor_) September 15, 2023

'Nuff said.

Related: Closer Look at AP Piece on DeSantis’ Jacksonville Response Raises More Questions About Their Agenda