Now that Novak has partially 'fessed up, everyone is re-asking the ancient question:
Who was the source? Rove, we are told, was
a source, but not
the source. As they used to say each week at the beginning of
The Prisoner: Who is Number One?
emptywheel, in a
characteristically fine piece of work, presumes that Mr. Unmentionable must be Richard Armitage. That's a pretty good guess, especially since his name fits into a redacted segment of a court document in the case. (Ah, that takes me back! Fit-the-name-into-the-redaction is an
old game, which used to be easier in the days of monospaced fonts.)
Eric Alterman, on the other hand, thinks that Novak is making it all up: There
is no primary source. If I understand Alterman aright, the idea here is that Novak and Rove (and maybe a lawyer or two) got together and stitched up a cohesive story.
Hm. Interesting, but... Not buying it. Where does this leave Fitz?
From the LAT:
"I don't believe there was a conscious effort to manipulate me," he told Fox News. "This official was not known as somebody who did a lot of political manipulations. He is more of a substantive person.
Could this refer to Armitage? He staked out an interesting position, with one foot planted firmly in the PNAC camp, the other standing next to Colin Powell.
I'm not convinced that Armitage is Number One, although I don't have a better suspect at the moment. But I do know who Number Two is: Robert Novak. He may be the biggest piece of number two in the history of journalism.
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