Arianna Huffington: Russert Watch: Back, Rested, and Ready to Come Clean?

[Jack Rabbit]

From The Huffington Post
Dated Saturday August 20

Russert Watch Preview: Back, Rested, and Ready to Come Clean?
By Arianna Huffington

Update: Turns out that our man Tim is going to be taking another week off, with the ever-chipper David Gregory sitting in. So here is my updated preview of this week’s Meet the Press:

After turning the no-tough-question-left-unasked chores over to Andrea Mitchell last week, Tim Russert will have David Gregory filling in for him this Sunday. Let’s hope he uses the extra time off for a little soul-searching, and will take the opportunity upon his return to finally come clean about his still-unexplained involvement in Plamegate.



Now, I don’t mean to gnaw on a bone (actually, I do mean to gnaw on a bone -- isn’t that what blogging is all about?) but I still think Russert owes it to his viewers to put himself in the Meet the Press hot seat. Or, if not, then at least yell “bullshit!” on the air, get himself suspended, and go into hiding. But as long as Russert continues to remain visible, he needs to fess up about the mystery everyone in Washington is talking about. If Scooter Libby did in fact tell Pat Fitzgerald that he first learned of Valerie Plame’s identity from Russert, and Russert continues to stand by his August 2004 claim that “he did not know Ms. Plame’s name or that she was a CIA operative and that he did not provide that information to Mr. Libby”, the inescapable question is: Is one of them lying or can both of these things be true? Could Russert have just told Libby that “Joe Wilson’s CIA agent wife” was the one who suggested her hubby be sent to Niger? In that case, as Tom Maguire puts it: “No name, no ‘operative’ -- and no comment from NBC”.

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[blm]

1. Russert is probably way too involved with the BFEE mafia to turn snitch

on them.

I expect NOTHING honest or noble from Russert...EVER.

[rodeodance]

2. does it come down to Tim's word vs Libby's word?