Spinonymous: Newsweek gave anonymity to DOJ official defending Gonzales

An article in the April 30 edition of Newsweek by investigative correspondent Michael Isikoff quoted an anonymous "top Justice official" defending Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales' alleged role in the firings of eight U.S. attorneys, saying: "We believe the burden is now on the Democrats to prove that something improper occurred here -- and they haven't done that." According to Newsweek, the official "asked not to be ID'd talking about nonpublic matters." The article offered no indication as to what "nonpublic matters" the anonymous official referred to, or why they would prevent this official from speaking on the record.

As Media Matters for America has documented, Newsweek has frequently granted anonymity to Republican officials praising President Bush, despite the magazine's guidelines stating that "the burden of proof should lie with the reporters and their editors to show why a promise of anonymity serves the reader." The article in the April 30 Newsweek failed to explain how allowing a Justice Department official to anonymously defend the attorney general's and the Justice Department's conduct in the U.S. attorneys scandal "serves the reader."

From Isikoff's article in the April 30 edition of Newsweek:

But Gonzales himself was hanging tough. "We believe the burden is now on the Democrats to prove that something improper occurred here -- and they haven't done that," said a top Justice official (who asked not to be ID'd talking about nonpublic matters). Publicly, the White House was standing by its A.G. One White House adviser (who asked not to be ID'ed talking about sensitive issues) said the support reflected Bush's own view that a Gonzales resignation would embolden the Dems to go after other targets -- like Karl Rove. "This is about Bush saying, 'Screw you'," said the adviser, conceding that a Gonzales resignation might still be inevitable. The trick, said the adviser, would be to find a graceful exit strategy for Bush's old friend.

—S.S.M.