King, for a Day: Woodward on TV Defends Role in Plame Case

By: Greg Mitchell Appearing on Larry King's CNN show tonight, the Washington Post's Bob Woodward vigorously defended his conduct in the Plame/CIA leak case, while revealing that he still saw "no evidence so far" that there was a "vast conspiracy" to out Valerie Plame. On at least one occasion, Woodward seemed to slip and called his still-unknown source ?he? instead of ?the source.?

He said he did not speak with Vice President Cheney during the time period of the leak, seemingly ruling him out as the source.

Woodward admitted he would ?love to announce? the name, but reminded the audience that he had kept his word to Deep Throat for 33 years: ?It means I can go around and people know their identify will be protected. I can't risk losing that.? But he said that it was his understanding that the Post would publish the name of the source if another reporter nailed it down. "I was never delighted people tried to chase down Deep Throat," he said, "and I'm not delighted now but you can't stop them."

The question of Woodward's mysterious conversation, or non-conversation, about the source with colleague Walter Pincus never came up.

Woodward said that he continues to believe that he has seen ?no evidence? that there was a ?vast conspiracy? to out Plame or ?slime? her husband Joseph Wilson. The ?consequences may not be great? in this case, he added, beyond Scooter Libby's problems.

Asked, if this is true, why his source will not let Woodward name him, the reporter replied: "I pushed as hard as I could." He also said repeatedly that was in an "incredibly aggressive reporting mode" on this story.

At one point he referred to the source as "he," in explaining, "And so, I asked about Wilson, and he said this."

Asked what he thought about Ted Wells, Scooter Libby?s attorney, hailing him for testifying, Woodward said, ?You get gratitude from people and strange places, and then you get to ?be-careful-what you wish for'. Don't be surprised if I don't get denounced by them at some point.

"I am strictly in the middle. I do not wear a uniform. I am not red state or blue state."

He did not directly answer the question: Would he have revealed his source or defied the prosecutor if he had not received a waiver from the source?

Woodward took pains to explain that when he called Patrick Fitzgerald a ?junkyard dog prosecutor? on the Oct. 27 he meant it ?as a compliment.? He said he had previously called Michael Isikoff, who he hired at the Post, a ?junkyard dog reporter,? in admiration.

Woodward defended his appearance on King's show on Oct. 27 when he denied that he was hiding a "bombshell" or even a "firecracker" in this case. He said that was the "exact truth" as he did not realize the importance of his brief discussion with the source about Plame until the following day.

Asked if he thought his reputation had taken a hit, he replied: "That's for other people to judge. The biggest mistake you can make as a reporter is to worry about yourself.

"During Watergate there was a daily drumbeat denouncing Carl Bernstein and myself" over their use of anonymous sources or their perceived political motive. "That's how I got into this business," he said. "Ben Bradlee would just say, be cool."

In an odd moment, pressed by King about perhaps going easy on President Bush in his books to maintain good relations for future projects, Woodward in defensive mode suddenly held up two front pages from the Washington Post from 2002, and one from The New York Times last year, quoting revelations from his books about squabbles in the administration -- what he called "some tough stuff."

Woodward again said he was sorry he did not tell Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr., about the source earlier. He called Downie "the best newspaperman in America," and said he trusted him completely, pointing out that he worked with him for more than three decades.

He also cited Ben Bradlee's quote to E&P's Joe Strupp last week, when Bradlee said that Woodward did not have to tell everyone "every goddamn thing he knows."

King asked Woodward about criticism he received after his recent disclosed that he had submitted questions in advance for an interview with Vice President Cheney. Woodward said this was nothing new, and that he had done this with President Bush and others in the past to give them an idea of what areas he was interested in. ?But I did not limit myself to ask just those questions," he said.