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Somebody's Leaking at the Washington Post

By Jeralyn, Section Media
Posted on Thu Nov 17, 2005 at 08:08:11 PM EST
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Someone within the Washington Post has leaked the contents of an internal message board with comments by the paper's reporters about Bob Woodward's revelation he was told about Valerie Plame Wilson by a Bush Administration official.

Within an hour of one of the postings, Jonathan Yardley's comments had been leaked to Katherine Seelye of the New York Times, who over his objection, has printed it.

That's one of the problems with internal message boards and list-servs. It's happened at almost all of the criminal defense boards I used to participate in - and one of the reasons I weaned myself off them. These types of forums are fairly hack-proof -- the only way the contents would get out is by someone with access cutting and pasting it into an another document and either faxing or e-mailing it.

I hope the Post discovers the leaker and fires his or her a**. [Via Atrios.]

Here's Yardley's subsequent comment on the board:

Jonathan Yardley: The comment of mine two paragraphs above has been leaked, presumably by someone in the newsroom, to the New York Times. Katharine Seelye called me an hour ago pressing for further comment. I declined, stressing that this is a confidential internal critique written solely for the news staff of TWP and refusing to authorize her to quote from it. She called back half an hour later to say that her editor had told her to go ahead and quote from the comment anyway. I told her I expected her to make plain that this is a confidential internal document and that she is quoting from it over the objections of the person who wrote it. She said she would. We'll see.

I hardly see any point in having critiques and comments if they are to be publicized outside the paper. How can we write candidly when candor merely invites violations of confidentiality? Many readers say they distrust us. Well, now I find myself wondering if we can trust each other.

Here's one intriguing comment on the board:

When did Bob Woodward tell Len Downie about this, and was it before or after Bart Gellman's 10/30 reconstruction of the Libby case?

On a related note, even though these are professional writers, I was surprised to see how well written and spelling-error free the posts are. Pretty impressive, go take a look.

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    • Somebody's Leaking at the Washington Post | 6 comments (6 topical)
    Re: Somebody's Leaking at the Washington Post (none / 0) (#1)
    by jimcee on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:14 PM EST
    Let's see, Ms Miller and Mr Woodward attacked by the Left? A rather thin Fitzmas? The Left turning on its enablers, the NYT and WaPo? Mainstream media turning on its own?... Priceless.

    Re: Somebody's Leaking at the Washington Post (none / 0) (#2)
    by Pete Guither on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:14 PM EST
    Jimcee, I'm not sure what you mean. Miller was an enabler for the war, being willingly used by the administration. The left has attacked her ever since her early hyped claims that were clearly bogus. Woodward has also not been much of a friend to the left. It's true that the NYT and WaPo are mainstream media, but they're certainly not left. I think I see the problem. If you leave New York in a boat and go east, and then look back at New York from that vantage point, it is to the west of you, so you might mistakenly call New York the west coast, but your perspective is seriously off. The same seems to be true with your concept of left and right.

    Re: Somebody's Leaking at the Washington Post (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:14 PM EST
    Those of us who write for a living are actually pretty fanatical about our writing. I will check this post in preview probably 4 or 5 times and will still shame myself for any mistake that gets through. Hell, I've deleted 5 things and rewritten them just in the time it's taken me to type this. Maybe that's why the posts are so well written.

    Re: Somebody's Leaking at the Washington Post (none / 0) (#4)
    by Molly Bloom on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:14 PM EST
    Thin Fitzmas? 1. Libby indicted 2.Rove still under investigation 3. third Plame outing SAO discovered 4.Miller, WMD propagandist, disgraced 5.Woodward, general Bush propagandist, disgraced 6.Bush approval at historic levels for any president, with about 1% undecided 7.Cheney approval even lower than Bush's 8.Solid majority of the Public finally understands they were lied to and hoodwinked into Iraq 9. House unable to pass draconian budget because they can't keep the GOP Enablers (moderates) in line no matter how long they keep the vote open 10. Chuck Hagel turning on the Bush/Rove swift boat attacks on critics 11. Jon Stewart calling Cheney a jackass on TV last night (got to be the 1st time a comedian has called a sitting VP a jackass on TV) 12. Fitzgerald back in front of a GJ presenting more evidence this week What more did you want from Fitzmas?

    Re: Somebody's Leaking at the Washington Post (none / 0) (#5)
    by Molly Bloom on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:14 PM EST
    6. should read: historic lows for any president.

    Re: Somebody's Leaking at the Washington Post (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:15 PM EST
    What more did you want from Fitzmas?
    A different Democratic strategy in '04 when it all mattered.

    Somebody's Leaking at the Washington Post | 6 comments (6 topical)