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# Posted 6:04 PM by Ariel David Adesnik

McCAIN '08 DARES THE NY TIMES TO DEFEND ITS WORK: McCain rep Patrick Hynes has a issued a direct challenge to the Paper of Record. He writes:

At 6:51 AM this morning, I e-mailed Jim Rutenberg– whom I know and have interacted with in the past–to invite him onto my radio program “Meet the New Press” on Saturday morning to discuss the sourcing of his New York Times hit piece on my client John McCain.

At 7:24 AM Rutenberg declined my invitation in an e-mail and indicated—without my even asking—that no one else at the Times was likely to come on, either.

It seems very odd to me that after having “broken” (broken, indeed) a big story about a major national figure, a story that is capable of impacting the 2008 presidential election, no one at the Times has any interest in discussing the story any further, especially considering so many have expressed such deep skepticism about its sourcing and the value of its content.

Let this blog post stand as an open invitation to any and all reporters and editors at the Times: If anyone there has any interest in defending the paper’s integrity and answering the many questions readers have about its sourcing, I have an open microphone for two hours on Saturday morning.

You can e-mail me at: patjhynes-AT-msn.com

In McCain camp vows to "go to war" with NYT, Politico reports that the Times isn't talking to the media, either. Sometimes, it's acceptable for politicians not to comment about something in the press. But how can a journalist possibly insist that they shouldn't have to answer questions about a story? I thought reporters had nothing to hide and that their only interest was the public good.

Although Politico reported that Bill Keller had no comment, the Times' top dog later did later issue the following statetment:

"On the substance, we think the story speaks for itself. On the timing, our policy is, we publish stories when they are ready.

'Ready' means the facts have been nailed down to our satisfaction, the subjects have all been given a full and fair chance to respond, and the reporting has been written up with all the proper context and caveats.

This story was no exception. It was a long time in the works. It reached my desk late Tuesday afternoon. After a final edit and a routine check by our lawyers, we published it."

But if Politico and The New Republic have their facts right, Keller is bending the truth at best, or even lying. Perhaps he should talk to his predecessor, Howell Raines, about credibility issues...

Labels: John McCain, NY Times

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