'so-called Council of the Wise'

To: Byron Calame
Re: A New Scourge Afflicts Haiti: Kidnappings

Ginger Thompson wrote:

Danielle Magloire, a spokeswoman for Haiti's temporary governing group, the so-called Council of the Wise, agreed.

Why the sneering epithet? Would the NYT write, "Alberto Gonzales, head of the so-called Justice Department"?

In both cases, skepticism may be warranted, but not expressed in a condescending matter, in a straight news piece.