Jason Leopold: Dan Rather or Gary Webb, Redux?

We know how Rove & Co. operates. If an inconvenient truth threatens to break through the lid on MSM taboo subject matter -- Dubya's former cocaine abuse, Dubya AWOL in the TNG, Karl Rove turned state's evidence on Bush-Cheney -- the approach is always the same: Poison the Well, or Discredit and Destroy the Messenger. One or both of these tactics may have been applied to Jason Leopold and TruthOut to preempt MSM investigation of evidence that Karl Rove was, quite possibly, granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for his cooperation with the Fitzgerald Grand Jury.

If the prosecution is, indeed, going after bigger figures in the Plame case and Rove sang to the G.J., it would serve both Karl Rove and Patrick Fitzgerald to obscure that fact.

Poison the Well. This is a favorite tactic that has used effectively for years by BushCo. The basic approach is to leak false documents or information to "poison the well" of evidence with a forgery. This requires that someone be found who can convincingly play the role of an inside source who holds genuine evidence of wrongdoing that is otherwise sealed or unobtainable. This source may or may not know that the document he possesses is a forgery, which is in turn passed on to a reporter or news producer. The document or information and the bearer appears to be genuine and sincere, so the news organization runs with the story, staking its credibility on the line. A third party then demonstrates that document or information is a forgery or is somehow inaccurate. The reporter and news organization's professional reputation are severely undermined. The news organization eventually fires the reporter or producer, and suffers a decline. Even though the truth at the bottom of the well is still quite accurate and available to enterprising reporters, no major news media dare go near it again. Most recently, this phenomenon has spawned the verb to be "Rathered", after copies of Texas National Guard documents from Dubya's service record were shown, convincingly enough, to be recreated instead of original unit records.

Discredit/Destroy the Messenger. BushCo has also been known to discredit and destroy the accuser, with or without the intermediate step of leaked false evidence. This has happened repeatedly to previously obscure journalists who managed through hard work and persistence to piece together evidence of high-level corruption that more cautious, better-known reporters pass over. The story is ruthlessly attacked by well-positioned critics in the industry and academia. Some character flaw or past transgression of the author is unearthed. Cooperating editors are demoted. Publications are hit by advertising boycotts. The investigative journalist's body is later found in a motel room bathroom, dead of apparent self-inflicted wounds. Prime examples are Danny Casolaro's "Octopus" story (BCCI and the "October Surprise"); see, http://archives.cjr.org/year/91/6/octopus.asp ; James Hatfield, author of "Fortunate Son" (Dubya's drug abuse), see, http://www.lovearth.net/fortunateson.htm ; and, Gary Webb's "Dark Alliance" series(Iran-Contra and CIA drug dealing) see, http://www.mega.nu/ampp/webb.html .

When the facts eventually come out about the Rove indictment story, I would not be surprised to see that one or the other, or perhaps both, of these tactics have been applied by experts to Leopold and TruthOut, and as a bonus feature, used by Rove and his crew as a way of discrediting progressive news sites in the blogosphere. Something like this is already quite visible.