The Novak Affair

How I broke the CIA-leak story, and why nobody noticed

Comments (0) By David Corn Thursday, Oct 9 2003

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Bravo. Of course, Democrats are eager to capitalize on the scandal. And a damn-mad Wilson is crying for justice and doing all he can to keep the case alive. (Wouldn’t you?) But this has no bearing on the action in question. The issue is not who’s screaming about the leak but who did it. Yet if Portman and the Republicans can succeed in presenting the controversy as another one of those same-old bitter face-offs between D’s and R’s — creating a moral equivalency between the leakers and the complainants — they win. Their aim is to exploit the public’s (justifiable) cynicism toward Washington and to battle to an it’s-all-politics draw. This is a good strategy — as long as no indictments materialize.

How did I respond to these sly comments? I didn’t. Time was up. The congressman had been granted the first word and the last. And I am sure to many viewers it appeared as if the Wilson-leak scandal was just the latest fodder for the never-

ending food fight in Washington. With his disingenuous rhetoric, Portman had gained the advantage. After all, it’s hard to look clean while contending with flying Jell-O. And I never got the chance to discuss my new book about the deceptive ways of the Bush crowd. At least, I picked up material for the paperback edition.