NEVERMIND:

Kristof Re-Visits Key 2003 Column on Joe Wilson's Trip to Niger (Editor &Publisher, November 03, 2005)

After months of complaints from what he calls “bloggers on the right,” among others, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has posted at his paid TimesSelect page a clarification on his now-famous, but somewhat flawed, column that played a central role in the still-enveloping Plame/CIA leak case. [...]

It came just hours after Slate's Jack Shafer had penned his own column taking Kristof to task for not dealing with this matter. Kristof told Shafer yesterday that he was considering re-visiting the column, but noted that he couldn't think of an example where a Times column or article was corrected after six months.

In his TimesSelect piece Thursday, Kristof examines two key criticisms of the column.

First, he denies that he stated that the Vice President's office, not the CIA, sent Ambassador Wilson to Niger, only that Cheney wanted an investigation by somebody. But Kristof admits: “In fairness, though, it is true that Cheney apparently didn't know that Wilson had been dispatched. If I'd known that I would have said so.”

Then he turns to the matter of his column reporting that Wilson had actually seen (forged) documents on the uranium deal, when he didn't. Kristof explains: “Wilson has said that he misspoke when he made references to the documents to me and to two other journalists.”

What's left of the column after you concede that Wilson was sent by the CIA to not find evidence and then lied to suggest that he wasn't and hadn't?

Posted by Orrin Judd at November 5, 2005 6:52 AM