To quote the great American philosopher Yogi Berra, "It ain't over til it's over." And you ain't indicted...until you are indicted. So Jason Leopold jumped the gun at best --and screwed up royally at worst in his haste to be first. Now Kurtz comes in and does an ad hominem whack job on Leopold, who admits to having "battled drug addiction and mental illness and been convicted of grand larceny." Well, we all have our demons, and the info is useful to know but not necessarily germane to the issue of Rove's indictment. And Kurtz stops just short of accusing Leopold of impersonation as well. Would have been nice to hear from Leopold, but after giving radio interviews on the subject, he appears now to be referring all calls to his ... More »

Kurtz's gambit of mentioning Leopold's drug addiction, mental illness, and grand larceny conviction first reduces one's trust in Kurtz---when the really salient fact of his past self-admitted lies is delayed till later. Granted, those other traits aren't those one necessarily looks for in a trustworthy reporter; but he could still be telling the truth about Rove. Apparently not, or not as far as we will know anytime soon. But Kurtz's own skewed priorities disappoint. Why didn't the op-ed editor straighten this out?

Useful information about TruthOut's unprofessional article on Rove's alleged indictment. I would have liked to see this column go a bit further in understanding what led to this fiasco, maybe consult with Leopold himself, rather than make assumptions about his character in public. Still, I'm glad that NewsTrust caught this questionable report early on.

There probably is a very interesting story to how Leopold got this wrong, but Kurtz did not find it. He instead relies heavily on character assassination and wanders away from the real story. The Klein story similarly bashes consultants without giving any opposing viewpoint.

When the tellers of the story become the story, the role of "journalism" becomes more complicated. In this case, Jason Leopold published a report (at trouthout.org) based on multiple (3-5) sources saying that Karl Rove had been indicted. THERE HAS BEEN NO EVIDENCE ONE WAY OR ANOTHER THAT THE STORY IS TRUE __OR__ FALSE. Karl Rove COULD very well have been indicted, and the indictment sealed (i.e. kept secret) while negotiations continue on whether Rove might provide evidence in the case. What Howard Kurtz does can only be called a "hack job" on Jason Leopold, Marc Ash, and Truthout.org. When the players in the story become the story, then their background DOES become relevant, so his bringing up Leopold's history is ... More »

Kurtz is not a pundit who is trustworthy.He,by far,represents the poor quality of reporting today.It is my belief that the truthout story has merit.Note,that NO reporter has come up with any FACTS. The Bush regime is rife with pathological LIARS,and yhe press does NO investigation.I no longer have faith in the mainstream press.