National Journal’s Bruce Stokes learned in the documents that, while he was the magazine’s international-economics correspondent, he was unknowingly the central character in an apparent Chinese espionage plot. Read the full story here.
A draft indictment against former NSA official Thomas Drake, which was never filed, shows that the government contemplated prosecuting him for a range of crimes, including conspiracy. But many of the most serious charges were dropped. Why? And what does it tell us about the Obama administration’s ongoing campaign to staunch leaks of classified information? Read my exclusive piece in Washingtonian.
The Watchers is on sale today in paperback. You can pick up a copy in your favorite bookstore or online. It’s got a nifty new cover, as well as a new afterword on the Christmas Day bombing attempt. That event occurred as the hardcover was going to press, so we couldn’t work it in. I’m glad it’s in the new version, because it ties up the theme of the whole book very nicely.
Here are some links to bookstores selling the paperback:
The Economist has named The Watchers one of its best books of 2010! I’m honored to be included in such a fine group of authors. The magazine calls the book, “A vivid, well-reported and intellectually sophisticated account of the surveillance state in the wake of the attacks on September 11th 2001.”
I’ve long known that, on many important national security decisions, former president George W. Bush wasn’t in the driver’s seat. But I was shocked to discover that at one of the most critical points of his presidency, Bush wasn’t even in the car. Here’s my review of Bush’s shocking admission, in his new memoir, about the week that imperiled his administration and might have exposed one of his most controversial intelligence programs.
My new feature in Washingtonian looks at the ten year saga to buy the Air Force’s new mid-air refueling tanker. I’ve been writing about government contracts for years, and this is easily the most fascinating, controversial, and personally ruinous contracting story I’ve ever encountered. Hopefully, by year’s end, the Air Force will put an end to this escapade, but I’ve got a feeling that this story is still far from over.
“They already know who it is.” That’s how one former U.S. official responded the Justice Department’s years-long investigation of a suspected leaker of classified intelligence. So, why are prosecutors trying to force a well-known journalist to identify this suspect before a federal grand jury? And what does it mean for the future of a free press in the Obama administration? Read all about it in “Plugging the Leaks,” my latest feature for Washingtonian magazine. It’s on stands now and available online.
The Russian spies arrested last month and traded back to Moscow have mostly been introduced to the American public as a hot girl and a bunch of bumbling Borises and Natashas. But people who crossed paths with one of the recently deported spies, a Bostonian calling himself Donald Heathfield, suggest that he, at least, may have passed important American business intelligence back to Russia. Read the full story in Washingtonian.
The relationship between a national security reporter and a confidential source is one of the most guarded and prized in Washington. Now, an audacious Web site is upending the way sensitive leaks find their way to daylight, and with it, the media’s influence over information. Is the Obama administration taking notice? Read my new piece in Washingtonian.
Nick Clegg is taking on the U.K.’s police state. Here’s my analysis for The Daily Beast on what it means for U.S. politicians.
Author of @War and The Watchers
