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Novak, Russert, and the Washington Protection RacketNovak and his partner in logrolling, Tim Russert.

By Jack ShaferPosted Friday, June 20, 2008, at 7:37 AM ET

(Continued from page 1)

I can't find a Novak column that names Russert as a source, so the nature of the material Russert provided to Novak is unknown except that it appears to have been anonymous, the usual form of payment in the Washington protection racket. Here's how Novak characterizes the information his pal gave him:

He supplied for use in my column news tidbits he could not use. During my half century of journalism, he was the only colleague who was a source.

Sharing information with another reporter is completely kosher. I do it daily, almost hourly, as do many journalists. But the Novak-Russert relationship poses a couple of questions. Why couldn't Russert use the tidbits? Was the information tainted? Was it information about Democratic Party powers that former Democratic operative Russert couldn't use? Nobody in Washington, not even saints, gives away something for nothing. Why was it in Russert's interest to steer a decade-and-a-half worth of information to Novak for almost no payoff except to see the information used? Was Russert protecting himself by feeding Novak, or did Novak owe him and feel obliged to use the information?

Speaking at the Russert memorial service yesterday, Al Hunt—Novak's former colleague on Capital Gang—praised Russert as a journalistic angel who practiced "the oldest virtues and verities in the profession: preparation, integrity, fairness, accountability."

That may be true, but this week, the real Russert scoop belongs to Novak. His Tim was a bit of a devil. His "skill" at opposition research "propelled him to the top ranks of television interviewers." Russert's long service as an anonymous source to Novak, aka the prince of darkness, requires further explanation.

******

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Jack Shafer is Slate's editor at large.
Photograph of Tim Russert with Robert Novak by Alex Wong/Getty Images.
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