Daily Kos

What Happened to Josh Marshall's Mega-Story?

by DavidNYC

Wed Jul 14, 2004 at 08:30:15 PM PDT

Last month, fans of Talking Points Memo probably noticed that Josh Marshall went on vacation & left his blog in the hands of guest-bloggers (including Democratic Majoritarians Ruy Teixeira and Jon Judis, as well as New Republic-an Spencer Ackerman).

Anyhow, before he left (or as he was leaving), Josh posted something rather tantalizing:

A few points before signing off, though. You may have noticed a slight down-tick in the frequency of posts of late. And that's for a few different reasons. But a principal one is that I and several colleagues have been working on a story that, if and when it comes to fruition --- and I'm confident it shall --- should shuffle the tectonic plates under that capital city where I normally hang my hat. So that's something to look forward to in the not too distant future. And that's taken some of my time away from TPM and prevented me from sharing with you some delectable tidbits which otherwise I would have loved to have done.
So what happened? The post linked above was dated June 17th. Did I miss Marshall's story? (And hence, was it presumably not quite as earth-shattering as he had prophesied?)

Or was it actually just that TNR story (which Marshall was not actually by-lined on) about Bush allegedly pushing the Pakistanis to nab bin Laden (the "July Surprise") during the Democratic convention? I don't think this was it, though. (I mention it because both Judis and Ackerman - two of Marshall's guest-bloggers - were listed as authors of the piece.)

Or has the piece just not come out yet? Maybe it's taking them longer to write/source. Maybe they're having trouble getting it published - but if that happened, I imagine Marshall would resort to posting it on his website.

So, fellow Kossacks, what do we think is going on here? And anyone care to speculate on the topic of this alleged "blockbuster" story? Below in the poll are a few ideas - things that are in the realm of possibility, but that would be pretty remarkable if true.

Poll

What is Josh Marshall writing about that's so darn special?

46%23 votes
18%9 votes
8%4 votes
0%0 votes
0%0 votes
4%2 votes
22%11 votes

| 49 votes | Vote | Results

Tags: (all tags) :: Previous Tag Versions

Permalink | 39 comments

  •  jm (none / 0)

    marshall pisses me off. always has "more to come" or some tantalizing hint of something he knows, but can't say. surely it's all meant to drive traffic to his site. if he's got something to say, say it, if not, stop with the teases.

    by thirdparty on Wed Jul 14, 2004 at 08:36:00 PM PDT

    •  more soon (none / 1)

      Always, always, ALWAYS "more soon" or some such line; and only 10% of the time does he follow through. That, combined with his propensity to say in four paragraphs what he could say in one, makes me inclined to run a competition to see who can best parody his style (a la the Hemingway competitions).

      by sakitume on Wed Jul 14, 2004 at 08:43:34 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  "More on this later" (4.00 / 4)

      I like Marshall, but I do agree with you there: His constant refrain of "More on this later" is maddening. I seldom remember if he follows up - either his original posts aren't memorable enough (or recent enough) by the time he does a follow-up, or he fails to link to his original post, or perhaps he just doesn't follow-up as often as he says he will.

      Perhaps he does have a scrupulous record of following up - I just don't feel like I can keep track of his follow-ups, even though I visit his site often. Here on DKos, by contrast, I remember old posts well, and I can usually identify when Kos is following up or expanding on a previous post. Also, Markos makes it easier by putting posts in categories, which Marshall doesn't do.

      All that said, I still like Marshall a lot. I know he comes in for some tough criticism around these parts, but he's definitely a guy I'm glad to have on our side. He has resources and contacts that (from where I stand) appear to be unmatched by anyone in the left-blogosphere.

      Swing State Project: Campaign & Election News

      by DavidNYC on Wed Jul 14, 2004 at 08:43:42 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  Right (none / 1)

      I seem to recall that he's done this before with other stories in the past.

      by Viktor on Wed Jul 14, 2004 at 08:46:24 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  He's an upscale Drudge sometimes (none / 0)

      Drudge publishes anything that is slipped under the men's room door, regardless of evidence or the lack thereof.

      Marshall posts teasing crap on a semi-regular basis, like the hot girl (or guy, as the case may be) from high school who was always justthisfar out of reach.

      by Bob Johnson on Wed Jul 14, 2004 at 08:47:17 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  Here's what I suspect (4.00 / 6)

    JMM is onto the real reason Plame was outed. Had little to do with who she was married too, though that was the great twofer in outing her.

    Has to do with the source of the forged Niger documents and where that leads.

    A certain company that begins with an H formerly headed by a CEO who ha a penchant for swearing in the Senate well whose company in 1995 may have been selling components to Libya which had nuclear dual-use capacity.

    Remember what plame was in charge of...?

    cheers,

    Mitch Gore

    Wanna win in '08...?

    Put your money where your mouth is.

    by Lestatdelc on Wed Jul 14, 2004 at 08:46:45 PM PDT

    •  I have matching tinfoil mittens (none / 1)

      I also thought JMM's premature scoopulation had to do with the forged Niger documents...I just assumed he was hinting that some lackey of our intelligence services ordered up the documents and Marshall had found out.

      It could also be he had a preview of the Plame case and Fitzgerald investigation and it doesn't stop at Scooter Libby or Rove.

      Do I think it has to do with both of these things and Halliburton, all mixed into a wet dream of Bush/Cheney scandal? No, but it sure would be nice.

      I just want the Bush Presidency to end as soon as possible...ending in handcuffs would be sweet beyond belief.

      John McCain

      by joejoejoe on Wed Jul 14, 2004 at 08:55:25 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  Wow (none / 0)

      Heh. Plame was on the WMD circuit. If this is a Plame-Halliburton two-fer, then wow.

      Swing State Project: Campaign & Election News

      by DavidNYC on Wed Jul 14, 2004 at 08:55:38 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  Considering its prominence in my brain right now.. (none / 0)

    I will hope it has something to do with United States Military Personnel videotaping the anal rapes of little Iraqi boys in front of their mothers.

    -9.63, -7.03 Rage, rage against the Lying of the Right

    by Maryscott OConnor on Wed Jul 14, 2004 at 08:55:25 PM PDT

  •  Leaves (none / 1)

    By the way, to read the tea leaves, Marshall did say that his story

    "should shuffle the tectonic plates under that capital city where I normally hang my hat."

    Sounds to me like it could be some boring, over-inflated (though not necessarily unimportant) story about how the inside-the-beltway world works. I'm thinking something along the lines of Nick Confessore's story about the "K Street Project."

    Swing State Project: Campaign & Election News

    by DavidNYC on Wed Jul 14, 2004 at 09:06:03 PM PDT

    •  Agreed... that's why I'm not a big fan (none / 0)

      His worldview is too small.

      He reminds of a TV sports reporter who is too close to the athletes (a "jock sniffer," in news parlance).  They hang out in lockerrooms and act as though they are jocks, themselves... while nothing could be further from the truth and the jocks play along because it suits their purposes.

      Josh is always printing these fawning interviews with celebrity Dem politicians.  Almost like he thinks he has influence on the policymakers, themselves.

      Earth to Josh: Nope.

      by Bob Johnson on Wed Jul 14, 2004 at 09:52:05 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  I don't think Plame is involved at all (none / 1)

    In Josh's story.  My tinfoil theory is that the person who provided the forged documents is none other than Mamour Fall, the Sudanese recently deported from Italy after it was found that was a Bin Laden supporter.  The taped last statements of several Saudi terrorists were found while searching his home.  He claimed that he only had possesion of them to sell.  He met Bin Laden on three occasions, and Bin Laden helped finance his diamond ventures.

    BTW, DeBeers just settled their suit - now they can reopen in the US!

    Some people call you the elite, I call you my base.

    by pixie on Wed Jul 14, 2004 at 09:07:14 PM PDT

    •  Tinfoil Quotient (none / 1)

      So the implication would be that OBL was trying to get us to invade Iraq? Thereby demonstrating that, by going in like we did, George W. Bush was doing Osama bin Laden's direct bidding?

      That would be a bombshell, wouldn't it? It's bad enough Iran's catspaw, but to have also been bin Laden's useful tool really would cut the legs out from under the administration's "War on Terror" arguments, wouldn't it?


      "I play a street-wise pimp" — Al Gore

      by Ray Radlein on Wed Jul 14, 2004 at 09:39:48 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      •  Goddamn (none / 1)

        Is Jenna Bush ALWAYS drunk?

        Shameless Plug: Check out my band Losers of the Year we rock if I do say so myself.

        by DeanDemocrat on Wed Jul 14, 2004 at 09:51:45 PM PDT

        [ Parent ]

      •  Possible. (none / 0)

        On June 28th JMM made a post about a Financial Times article (subscription required, unfortunately) in which the FT stated that the original source (and original forger) of the forged Niger/yellowcake documents was an unnamed Italian businessman. JMM goes on to say:


        That's what the FT says.

        I hear something different.

        In fact, I know something different.

        My colleagues and I have reported on this matter extensively, spoken to key players involved in the drama, and put together a detailed picture of what happened. And that picture looks remarkably different from this account which is out today -- specifically on the matter of the origins of those forged documents and who was involved.

        I cannot begin to describe how much I would like to say more than that. And at some later point in some later post I will do my best to explain the hows and whys of why I can't. But, for the moment, I can't.

        Let me, however, offer a hypothetical that might help make sense of all this.

        Let's say that certain individuals or organizations are responsible for some rather unfortunate misdeeds. And let's further postulate that such hypothetical individuals or organizations find out that some folks are on to them, that a story is in the works -- perhaps more than one -- and that it's coming right at them. Those individuals or organizations -- as shorthand, let's call them 'the bad actors' -- might well start trying to fight back, trying to gin up an alternative storyline to exculpate themselves and inculpate others. If that story made its way into the news, at a minimum, it might help the bad actors muddy the waters for when the real story comes out. You can see how such a regrettable turn of events might come to pass.

        This is of course only a hypothetical. But I thought it might provide a clarifying context.

        So read the FT article. But also keep your ears open. It is, I'm quite confident, not the last word you'll hear on this story.

        This would certainly suggest that whatever the Mega-Story is has to do with whoever forged the documents originally. And I can't see it being a real Mega-Story unless that person was:

        1. A member or associate of BushCo.
        2. A member or associate of Al-Qadea.
        Time will tell, but I think JMM has something real here.

        On an unrelated note, will somebody please tell me why my blockquotes never have the aesthetically pleasing grey shading behind them?

        Howard Dean = Peter Pumpkinhead

        by Colonel Panic on Thu Jul 15, 2004 at 01:15:26 AM PDT

        [ Parent ]

  •  Hmm (none / 0)

    Forgive me for not having a link, but I remember someone doing a diary on this a while ago that listed everything we knew about this "story."  So  I'm going off memory here (maybe someone remembers where it is...search isn't that great).

    One of the items (I think) was that this was something that both the Democrats and Republicans in Washington were aware of but did not want leaked to the press.  Of everything on that list, that was the one that stuck out to me.

    So you have to consider what would be so bad that the Democrats would not want to call out the Republicans on it.  It has to be something that would embarrass both parties.

    Here's my take: Democrats became aware of something a while ago and failed to immediately call them on it publically, possibly because they were told it wouldn't be good for America, national security, etc.  So they sat on it.  And sat.  And now they would like to bring it out, whatever it is, but it would look terrible for them that they kept it hidden for so long.

    One (potentially tinfoil) option not on your list: W has had or is developing a serious mental problem that has been covered up by both parties for the past few years.

    -6.88, -6.36

    by lemuel on Wed Jul 14, 2004 at 09:08:31 PM PDT

  •  What did butchCo say about invading Iraq (none / 1)

    ...you don't roll out a new ad campaign before the fall.(in stating why bush would wait until 09-12-02, to address the UN)

    You know, summer, people are out, on vacation, pre-occupied.

    I imagine the CIA and the Generals, and Justice  know a little something about roll outs also.

    And Josh isn't a psychic.  He's dependent on the insiders for a story and to comfirm a story.

    McCain: He's Constipated and Ready to GO

    by Al Rodgers on Wed Jul 14, 2004 at 09:37:22 PM PDT

  •  TPM (none / 0)

    Yeah, Josh said he was going to post the 2nd half of the Biden interview and never did, either. I really do like his reporting, though. It's my first stop in the morning.

    I think the story has to do with Niger Uranium, and I think the techtonic shift potential may have gotten eaten away by the Senate report and the stories that are affecting Wilson's credibility. That's my guess, although I'm hoping there's something else.....

    "Why can't you and the idea of separation of powers just hug it out, bitch?" Wonkette

    by Hollywood Liberal on Wed Jul 14, 2004 at 09:38:18 PM PDT

  •  Maybe it was just (none / 0)

    That he had reason to believe Kerry would pick Edwards. Maybe he found out ahead of time they were planning to arrest Ken Lay? So many big stories have broken lately its hard to know.

    Shameless Plug: Check out my band Losers of the Year we rock if I do say so myself.

    by DeanDemocrat on Wed Jul 14, 2004 at 09:50:29 PM PDT

  •  richard perle wants him dead. (none / 1)

    josh frustrates me much of the time, but i will continue to support him if for no other reason than richard perle wants him dead.
    www.nornsisland.com

    by n69n on Wed Jul 14, 2004 at 10:45:07 PM PDT

  •  This is interesting (none / 0)

    From a July 13th post:
    "Alack ... Karl Rove must be off his game.  
    As this site notes, the lawyer representing President Bush in the Plame case, James E. Sharp, is also defending Ken Lay in the Enron Götterdämmerung case.
    Admittedly, it probably doesn't presage a joint defense.  But the optics leave a bit to be desired, no? -- Josh Marshall"

    Democrats really should have a field day with that- at least let Jon Stewart and Letterman know about it.

    by Joe Willy on Thu Jul 15, 2004 at 05:05:01 AM PDT

  •  Josh's story (none / 0)

    Bush watched videos of child rape at Abu Ghraib

    - What happens on DailyKos, stays on Google.

    by Jon Meltzer on Thu Jul 15, 2004 at 07:06:20 AM PDT

Permalink | 39 comments