Of late, The New York Daily News has become ground-zero for anti-Rumsfeld leaks from the White House. Hereâs todayâs example: âRummyâs on Hot Seat: Glum Memo on War Steams White House.â
So whyâs all this stuff going to the Daily News?
I suspect thereâs a fairly straightforward answer.
Itâs not the Daily News. Itâs Daily News Washington Bureau Chief Tom DeFrank. All the stories have his byline.
The other big one was from October 10th (âPresident reportedly unhappy with Rumsfeld, Powellâ).
DeFrank has deep ties with various Bush One insiders including the president. (I discussed this in May 2001.) DeFrank even co-wrote James Bakerâs Bush years memoir.
Back in early 2001 DeFrank was a major conduit for the later discredited White House vandalism mumbo-jumbo. But that was when the Bush One/Bush Two split wasn’t nearly as salient as it is now.
Donât get me wrong. Thereâs nothing necessarily untoward about this. Reporters have to work their sources. But it does seem like DeFrank has become the go-to reporter for some Bush One type at or in the orbit of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Oh, who could that be â¦.