Woodward and Bernstein in the Trump Era

Bob Woodward had a golden source, an embittered deputy FBI director known as Deep Throat by the name of Mark Feld. He often helped to guide his reporting anonymously by confirming information and sharing tidbits from the Bureau's own investigation. Now I don't begrudge Bob Woodward for having such a great source, but when this relationship between senior FBI officials and the press becomes routinized, the potential for mischief is enormous. In 2017, BuzzFeed decided to publish the unconfirmed opposition research after CNN reported that it was important enough for James Comey to brief it to both President Obama and incoming President Donald Trump. What BuzzFeed and CNN did not know was that the FBI was unable to confirm any