Columnist flip-flops on source confidentiality

[Demi_Babe]

Robert Novak Believes in Revealing Confidential Sources, After All



By Greg Mitchell

Published: September 13, 2004 11:00 AM EDT

NEW YORK Syndicated columnist Robert Novak apparently believes that the principle of not revealing confidential sources is rather flexible.

The man who has stood on this principle for months, in deflecting calls for him to identify who in the Bush administration "outed" CIA operative Valerie Plame, said this weekend on national television that CBS should release the name of its source for the documents at the center of the dispute over its recent program on President Bush's National Guard service.

On the CNN panel show, "Capital Gang," Novak expressed grave doubts about the CBS documents, then said: "I'd like CBS, at this point, to say where they got these documents from. They didn't get them from a CIA agent. I don't believe there was any laws involved. I don't think we'll have a special prosecutor, if they tell. I think they should say where they got these documents because I thought it was a very poor job of reporting by CBS ...."

Fellow panelist, Al Hunt, from the Wall Street Journal, then replied: "Robert Novak, you're saying CBS should reveal its source?"

The transcript continues:

NOVAK: Yes.

HUNT: You do? You think reporters ought to reveal sources?

NOVAK: No, no. Wait a minute.

HUNT: I'm just asking.

NOVAK: I'm just saying in that case.

HUNT: Oh.

NOVAK: I think -- I think it's very important. If this is a phony document, the American -- the people should know about it.

HUNT: So in some cases, reporters ought to reveal sources.

NOVAK: Yes.

HUNT: But not in all cases.

NOVAK: That's right.

HUNT: OK. Mark Shields, what's the relevance of all this?

SHIELDS: A point well taken, Al.


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[trotsky]

1. Conservative Exposed as a Hypocrite!

In other headline news:

The Pope is Catholic!
Gravity Pulls Objects Closer Together!

[Norquist Nemesis]

2. Too bad Novak's not in the Crossfire hotseat

for that little oopsie! :mad: The sad part of the whole thing is that through all of this, they are all still focusing on the authenticity of the documents and the character of the author. Only a few times have I heard staff reporters make the statement that the White House does not deny what is IN the documents. And what is IN them is the issue...or at least it should be.

[Ruffhowse]

3. Hunt is smart, that wasn't gonna get by him. He's one of the only reasons

I watch that show.

[wtmusic]

4. People whose last name begins with 'N'

should not have to reveal their sources.

Got it, Robert.

[lunarboy13]

5. Well of course he did....

You see, in Bob Novak's world, any reporter who conceals the source for an anti-democrat story is being heroic -- that's what the Founding Fathers intended with the First Amendment. However, any reporter who does not reveal his or her source for an anti-republican story, well, that person deserves to be tortured repeatedly until that "Anti-American" frame of mind is fully extracted. And then once that source is revealed, the republicans can go about their business of destroying the source's credibility. You see, with an anonymous source, the republicans have no one except the documents themselves to throw mud at.

So all Bob's doing -- in his little two-dimensional world -- is trying to remain convinced that republicans are always right and democrats are always wrong. This is probably a man who clung desperately to the belief that Santa Claus is real well into his twenties. He is probably still sensitive about the subject. With that in mind, you probably shouldn't bring up the subject of the Easter Bunny.

[Fovea]

6. Trash your ethics and the world will beat a path to your door.

Novak will look good in stripes, too bad they use solid orange these days.