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October 26, 2005
Leaks
[T]he most fascinating aspect of the Plame affair is the illustration of how information is used within Washington as a weapon, whether offensively to spread a story or defensively to discredit it; whether to build up the credibility of a source or to cast the gravest aspersions on its integrity. Whatever the power of a 2,000 lb smart bomb in the Outlands may be, it is as nothing beside the whispered word, the glimpsed memorandum, the indictment or the leak in Washington DC. That central fact almost determines the dramatis personae. The confluence of the media, intelligence agencies and partisan politics is not only unsurprising in that context, it is almost inevitable. Who else would be involved in the Plame affair except those whose jobs revolve around the processing of insider information?And although the Fitzgerald inquiry is ostensibly about stopping leaks, no one actually wants them to stop. An amicus curae brief filed by 36 media organizations including ABC News, AP, CNN, CBS News, WSJ, Fox News, USA Today, NBC News, Newsweek, and Reuters, argued that it would be a bad idea to force journalists to identify the purveyors of confidential information.
. . .
Leaks are used to source stories, to start investigations; leaks are even used to track the progress of investigations into leaks. The only thing in the universe more useful than duct tape or WD-40 is the leak. Therefore even those who hope Karl Rove or Scooter Libby are indicted are praying it will be on grounds of perjury or obstruction of justice, lest the whole show grind to a screeching halt.
"Backstage," The Belmont Club, October 24, 2005
Posted at October 26, 2005 06:18 AM | Categories: Politics
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