AN ACCUSATION AIMED AT RAND PAUL THAT WAS so weak it was debunked by MSNBC.

MSNBC debunked a charge leveled against Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and his legal team that the lawsuit they filed against the National Security Agency was “stolen from its author.” The network did so by contacting the author, who explained that he is part of Paul’s legal team.

“I was working on a legal team, and have been paid for my work,” Bruce Fein, who helped write the lawsuit, told MSNBC in an email.

The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank reported the accusation, which was leveled by Fein’s ex-wife, Mattie, against former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, the lead counsel on the lawsuit.

Relying on an accusation from an angry ex-wife, without checking with the author, looks a lot like reckless disregard. Has the WaPo’s general counsel’s office gone downhill?