Late Friday evening I posted the accusations of four supposed Senate staffers who claimed a Democratic aide had distributed the "GOP" talking points memo. I now have reason to believe that in unraveling a hoax I was hoaxed myself. I haven't been able to confirm a Sen. Reid aide was the source and barring more conclusive evidence I have removed the accused's name from the original post out of fairness and accuracy. Those who made the accusations are nowhere to be found. Sen. Reid's office labels the accusation "completely ridiculous" and Sen. Santorum's office would not officially confirm or deny it, saying the investigation was "up to you, the bloggers, and the media."
Of course, I mentioned this tidbit in an earlier thread. I was a bit skeptical as well, stating more information pointing to the Reid staffer was needed in order to prove he was the author. However, I was willing to give Claybourn the benefit of the doubt, and I still do now. It was a mistake. A bad mistake, but a mistake nonetheless.I'm disturbed and upset, both with those who anonymously made the accusation and myself for posting it without more judicious restraint. Inevitably someone will accuse me of hypocrisy and that's a fair criticism. But I have retracted the sloppy reporting on my part and am willing to note the errors; that is much more than ABC or the Washington Post can say.
Hopefully he'll take this lesson in stride, and won't get burned too harshly by it. It's gotten some attention by the MSM, as it was mentioned on CNN's Inside Politics (considering their low ratings, do they even count as the MSM?). They even mentioned Michelle Malkin's statement of the Reid aide possibly suing him for libel (nice way to throw a bone out there) on LaShawn Barber's site. I wouldn't be surprised if it's mentioned on MSNBC this afternoon too.
There is one point where I agree with Malkin: he should burn them back. If he has the phone numbers, hunt them down and expose them for what they did. Revenge is a dish served cold.