The Woodward Bombshell

"Times Executive Editor Bill Keller accused Miller of misleading the paper by not disclosing earlier that she had discussed Plame with Libby. Managing Editor Jill Abramson has said she has no recollection of Miller suggesting that she pursue a story on the Plame matter, as Miller has maintained.

"In Woodward's case, he says he passed along a tip about Plame to Post reporter Walter Pincus in June 2003, but Pincus says he has no recollection of such a conversation. Pincus has also testified in the probe but, like Woodward, has not obtained permission from one source to disclose that person's identity.

"Woodward has criticized the Fitzgerald probe in media appearances. He said on MSNBC's 'Hardball' in June that in the end 'there is going to be nothing to it. And it is a shame. And the special prosecutor in that case, his behavior, in my view, has been disgraceful.' In a National Public Radio interview in July, Woodward said that Fitzgerald made 'a big mistake' in going after Miller and that 'there is not the kind of compelling evidence that there was some crime involved here.'

"Rieder said it was 'kind of disingenuous' for Woodward to have made such comments without disclosing his involvement.

"Liberal blogger Josh Marshall wrote: 'By becoming a partisan in the context of the leak case without revealing that he was at the center of it, really a party to it, he wasn't being honest with his audience.'

"Downie said Woodward had violated the newspaper's guidelines in some instances by expressing his 'personal views.'

"During the Watergate scandal, Woodward protected the identity of 'Deep Throat' -- the government source who helped reveal Nixon administration corruption -- and kept the secret until former FBI official W. Mark Felt went public this spring. In this case, Woodward is protecting a Bush administration official who may be part of an effort to strike back at a White House critic. Woodward said he has 'pushed' his source, without success, for permission to discuss the matter publicly.

"Woodward and Downie said they doubt that The Post could have found a way to publish the content of Woodward's conversation, which under the ground rules established with the source was off the record. Woodward said that the unnamed official told him about Plame 'in an offhand, casual manner . . . almost gossip" and that "I didn't attach any great significance to it.'

"Woodward said he realized that his June 2003 conversation with the unnamed official had greater significance after Libby was described in an indictment as having been the first administration official to tell a reporter -- the Times' Miller -- about Plame. Downie said he has told Woodward that he must be more communicative about sensitive matters in the future.

"Woodward said that it was 'pretty frightening' to watch Fitzgerald threatening reporters with jail -- Miller served 85 days for initially refusing to testify -- and that he 'had a lot of pent-up frustration.' Woodward said that he 'was trying to get the information out and couldn't' because of his agreement with his source.

"Woodward has periodically faced criticism for holding backscoops for his Simon & Schuster-published books, which are invariably trumpeted by The Post, and several Post staff members complained yesterday in in-house critiques of the newspaper about his role.

"Downie said he remains comfortable with the arrangement, under which Woodward spends most of his time researching his books, such as 'Bush at War' and 'Plan of Attack,' while giving The Post the first excerpts and occasionally writing news stories. He said Woodward 'has brought this newspaper many important stories he could not have gotten without these book projects.'