THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

And gives the WaPo a chance to redeem itself.

oseph Wilson, the husband of outed
CIA operative Valerie Plame, called on Thursday for an inquiry by The Washington Post into the conduct of journalist Bob Woodward, who repeatedly criticized the leak investigation without disclosing his own involvement.

"It certainly gives the appearance of a conflict of interest. He was taking an advocacy position when he was a party to it," said Wilson, joining media critics in questioning the role of one of the best-known investigative reporters in the United States.

Woodward disclosed that he testified under oath on Monday to special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald that a senior Bush administration official casually told him in mid-June 2003 about Plame's position at the CIA..........

...........Before publicly disclosing his involvement in the leak case on Wednesday, Woodward was a frequent critic of Fitzgerald's investigation in television and radio appearances. Woodward has described the case as laughable and Fitzgerald's behavior as "disgraceful" and has referred to him as "a junkyard dog."

One day before Libby was charged, Woodward said he saw no evidence of criminal intent.

Marvin Kalb of Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government called Woodward's conduct "puzzling" and said he had more explaining to do.

"Since he knew he had information that was relevant and he chose not to disclose that information for reasons he said had to do with confidentiality, it's odd that he would rip into the prosecutor so publicly and so persistently," Kalb said.

Has one of the men who brought down Richard Nixon achieved that Nixonian status of "unindicted co-conspirator"?