Jason Leopold-Sticking By Story In Radio Interview

al-Scooter says:

May 14th, 2006 at 11:06 am
Ian Masters interviewing Jason Leopold now:
http://bornatthecrestoftheempire.blogspot.com/2006/05/leopold-interviewed-on-kpfk.html
http://www.kpfk.org/

91 JWR says:

May 14th, 2006 at 11:12 am
Hmm, Leopold on my local Pacifica station right now defending his Rove story. He says he has “more than two” very reliable sources. Says plea agreement rejected. Rove given 24 “business” hours to get his things in order. Says the level of detail he recieved from sources was too detailed to ignore.

92 al-Scooter says:

May 14th, 2006 at 11:14 am
Leopold says that if his sources has burned him on this story, they know they’ll be outed.

“ has 24 business hours to get his affairs in order.”

Leopold’s positioning truthout vs. NYT & WaPo: they might not have his sources, but NYT sat on NSA story for a year. Admits sounding defensive. Wants major outlets to confirm story to validate truthout.

Claims to have done fact-checking and independent confirmation. Leopold: Indictment is seald but will become public in 24 business hours (from Friday night?).

Expects public announcement “…anytime after Monday of this week.”

From the comments at:
http://www.firedoglake.com/2006/05/14/the-better-angels-of-our-nature/#comments

Jane Hamsher says:

May 14th, 2006 at 11:30 am
Leopold said he would out his sources if the story turned out not to be true? That’s FANTASTIC. That really turns this whole thing into a win-win. If Rove has already been indicted, we all celebrate. If not, we get to show that the blogosphere has higher standards than the MSM when Leopold outs his sources.

I for one am applauding

http://www.firedoglake.com/2006/05/14/killing-em-with-kindness/

:)

...I won't hold it against them one iota. They've done some incredible work in the past. Incredible work. But, and this is all in respect to the possibly that they might be burned, I would dissuade folks from TruthOut coming over here and doing a really good job whipping people into a frenzy about it.

We have been let down too many times, it's draining. My hunch is TruthOut is right on this one, but it's just a hunch.

PB

Thanks, kpete!:hi:

Explains why Bush wants to give an immigration speech Monday.

To cover the Rove story.

Extraordinary. Astonishing.

It's a shame they are getting revised and reinforced by the author and publishers rather than being confirmed by independent sources.

So what if the source get's outed?

What if the source is from Rove's legal team? People will be lining up to hire them if they pull of a coup like this.

I need another source. If wishing something were true is enough Rove would be Bubba's bitch by now.

Maybe I don't get your point...

Caught doing what? Making fools of the entire online liberal population.

What if it's just a law clerk on Rove's legal team. What would this person have to lose by getting caught?

...

either rove has been indicted or he will be. is that what you think is in doubt? it ain't.

I have seen nothing to lead me to conclusively believe otherwise.

I'm sorry, I've never heard of this Jason leopold person before yesterday. I'm not jumping on this bandwagon until I see someone I do know and trust stake their reputation on this story. So far not one has.

Cause I repeat Leopold's story is incredible. And I mean it. Literally.

I meant my post to back up your statement, not to contradict it.

I feel this is incredible as well.

We will see what is bullshit.

I'll serve it with a charming dill sauce.

But, until then we are in dangerous waters.

When I read that.

Outed sources, how scary. What, do they vaporize at that point?

The corporate media won't of course because of their symbiotic co-dependent relationship with sources who are part of the power establishment. So they continue to shovel out shit to the masses even when they KNOW it's BS and propaganda.

Remember the corporate media's yawn when the Downing Street Minutes came out? The response was, it's not news, we all knew that "the facts were fixed to fit the policy."

Yet at the time it was news and relevant, what were they reporting, what were their headlines? Aluminum tubes (debunked at the time but few gave that caveat any notice), Niger yellowcake (also debunked but you wouldn't have known it from the coverage), and the repetition of Condi's "mushroom cloud" and the administration's baseless deceitful fear mongering. Stenography.

This isn't someone inside the CIA who is going to lose their job if they are outed.

This is someone who is going to get promoted if they are outed.

simply in reference to Leopold's reporting. It's what some other journos have in the past talked about what should be done, but don't/can't do within their corporate media structure.

Otherwise he will have embarassed his publication, and embarassed many of us here on this board.

I just don't think it's wise to get so far ahead of something like this.

It'd be discrediting.

I'm not humiliated by believing an honest man who works for an honest rag.

If Leopold is right, then Rove is toasting on a spit this weekend, and Fitz can speak tomorrow or the day after or, I hope, Thursday, which would be a nice birthday present to my Mom.

If Leopold is wrong, then the indictment has not come down YET. And we have longer to wait.

I don't get the hysteria. But I recognize it. It happens every weekend on the soap opera boards. The screaming, the recriminations, the insults, the life and death threats. Over nothing that won't be resolved by waiting.

Go. Take a look at how you're all behaving:

<http://daytimedish.12.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=289&sid=47bf11a81256b264a650ca645dff62fa>

I'm not sure who is so "hysterical". I think it's the folks buying Champaign and planning parties.

Time will tell. I've said my peace. As you point out there's nothing left to do but wait.

Champagne keeps! If Rove squeaks thtough, we'll drink it when Dick gets it or when the elections squeak past Diebold, or when a number of good things come our way.
Being skeptical is a healthy attitude. Obstinately pouring cold water on everyone in post after post after post here - siggest an agenda.
I've seen some ugly agendas on other blogs. You put a bit too much effort in this not to give a stink.
Usually people are content to give their opinion once on a subject.

Okay, lemme get this straight:

Leopold has a number of Republican sources telling him this. And if he gets burned, he's going to out them.

Where is the downside in this for them?

If they lie to Leopold, they get to completely destroy Leopold's credibility, the credibility of one of the left's biggest newssources (Truthout), and discredit much of the blogosphere.

Who loses here?

In Republican eyes, those sources outed by Leopold would be seen as heroes.

I can just hear it now all the way up to the election: you KNOW how much you can trust ANYTHING the left says - look at how bad they screwed up the Rove indictment thing!

What's the worst that can happen if we back off this?

If it's true Rove will still be indicted.

We have an awful lot to lose if it is not true.

We have reporters doing just what we have called for the main stream "reporters" to do ... to get to the facts and get them out to the public ... that's what we have to lose. They need our support not our water cannons. Eating our own is not the way to fight the machine.


Time will tell ... but I am placing my bets on the boys of TO.

Isn't this putting the cart before the horse a bit.

If this is true, I'll trust him. It's how trust is built. I never blindly trust, I'm not a righty lol.

Anyway, we will just have to wait. I've said all I have to say about this. Time will tell.

I sincerely hope that I find you laughing at me tomorrow with a nice big happy "I told you so". That would be an "I told you so" I would be happy to accept.

I'll add...It's official, he's an idiot! Threatening sources won't get him future sources and/or whisleblowers.

Let's get real here. I doubt very seriously if this story is just made up. I am quite sure there were sources and those sources have been correct in the past. Any discrediting goes to the sources. They are the ones Lying. Jason only reported their Lies. Unless of course they completely deny even knowing Jason. Then yes Jason will be done. But I would bet any amount of money those sources will never whisper another story line again. We know the GOP Lies daily. I think the real story here is that there is a reporter that believes them...If they are Republican their word is no good period....

...although I hope it is.

However....
I can't count how many times I've read major stories in the MSM.....three days (or more) after they appeared on the blogs and other independent Internet media. So I'm not dismissing this just because it hasn't been confirmed by the MSM.

I do think MSM outlets are frantically trying to confirm this. They'll quote their own, but hardly ever independent media. That would be acknowledging a scoop by the riffraff. The exceptions are media blogs....I'll be interested to see what Froomkin has to say, for example.

...And this is excellent:

Leopold says that if his sources has burned him on this story, they know they’ll be outed.

knr

And Jane Hamsher for having enough self-assurance & sharp insight to give Leopold the benefit of the doubt.

Look at the facts.

1) We have a prosecutor who has methodically worked his way through the system.

2) He has already made high-level indictments. There is no question of his tenacity.

3) He is obviously going after Rove. He has brought Rove under the GJ many times.

4) It was clearly building to a crescendo with the latest GJ appearance.

5) Multiple reports indicate that Rove has already told the WH he is going to be indicted.

6) A good prosecutor can get an indictment aganist a ham sandwich. Getting a conviction is another matter.

Rove will be indicted. It is a question of when, not if. Outside of our partison curiosities, the only real significance of the Leopold claim is the timetable. And if that is off by a day or a week, I don't see how that is of any consequence one way or another.

And if it pans out it's a Rovian trick - I still fail to see the "heroism" of the outed liars.
They'll be about as herpoic as any bushbot - they all lie - how would THIS be a distinction? Just because they had the mighty ...Truthout? How ridiculous a statement is this?

...not this again.

Stuff like this shouldn't even be an issue.

Wait for Fitz to announce it.

Subject's Challenge Derails Reporter's Book Project
By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, March 9, 2005; Page C07

"Jason Leopold got a journalistic black eye three years ago when Salon retracted a story the freelancer had written about a Bush administration official, saying it could not authenticate the piece.

Now the former Los Angeles Times and Dow Jones reporter has written a book, "Off the Record," that criticizes journalists as lazy. Oh, and by the way, Leopold says he engaged in "lying, cheating and backstabbing," is a former cocaine addict, served time for grand larceny, repeatedly tried to kill himself and has battled mental illness his whole life.

But the book's publisher, Rowman & Littlefield, has canceled "Off the Record" days before it was to go to press, despite having sent out news releases and listed the book on Amazon.com. The publisher acted after receiving a warning letter from one subject's lawyer.

"I'm devastated," Leopold said yesterday. "I worked really hard these past two years to restore my credibility after the Salon fiasco. . . . I have a checkered past, and I was hoping that by coming clean about my own past, it would allow me to move forward." ..."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18624-2005Mar8.html

...or trying to make a recovery.

Howie will suck his dick if he is a conservative! That little "Howard-person" is truly repulsive. :puke:

The book was withdrawn when the publisher couldn't substantiate some of Leopold's claims. That doesn't seem like a recovery for Leopold, it seems like more of the same.

Wait for Fitz... that's my mantra.

edit:spell

Sorry.:)