The Hill:  Professors Donate to Obama, Opine About Election in the News:

At least a half-dozen professors who gave political donations to President Obama have been quoted in news articles opining about his administration and the 2012 race for the White House. The findings of The Hill’s months-long investigation come as Republicans have been crying foul, alleging a media bias for Obama and against Mitt Romney. 

The Hill cross-checked academics who have been quoted in news articles with Obama’s donor list and eliminated those who worked in prior Democratic administrations. The half-dozen professors detailed in this article do not mention their political affiliations in their bios online. A similar search for Romney donors did not yield any results.

Two of the six professors featured in the article are law professors:

Timothy Jost, a professor at Washington and Lee University, has been identified in news articles as “an expert on healthcare” and a supporter of Obama’s healthcare reform law. However, most articles do not mention he is an Obama donor; he has given thousands of dollars to the president and Democratic campaign committees. Jost has been critical of Romney’s plan to eradicate the president’s healthcare law, telling the Boston Globe last year that it is “unconstitutional.” Asked by Politico who won the first presidential debate earlier this month, Jost portrayed Romney as a flip-flopper: “The ‘etch-a-sketch’ strategy seems fully underway.” That comment was posted to Politico’s “The Arena” webpage. …

David Yellen, who is dean and professor of law at Loyola University in Chicago, donated to Obama in 2008 and 2011. In 2004, he gave to both Howard Dean and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.). Yellen told The Washington Times in 2010 that the scandal involving former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) was not a significant problem for the White House. “Any problem would be political rather than legal, and whether it’s a political problem I think is still premature,” Yellen said then. “It’s probably uncomfortable but not a big deal, given the context of things.” Yellen said he is “a small donor” and that his donation does not affect his objectivity. Asked if reporters should inquire about the political donations of the academics they are interviewing, Yellen responded, “It couldn’t hurt.”