David Corn
Encyclopedia
David Corn is an American political journalist and author and the chief of the Washington bureau for Mother Jones
. He has been Washington editor for The Nation and appeared regularly on FOX News
, MSNBC
, National Public Radio, and BloggingHeads.tv
opposite James Pinkerton
or other media personalities.
As an author, Corn's output includes nonfiction and fiction and generally deals with government and politics. Corn has also been a book reviewer. On one occasion, he criticized his own organization when Nation Books published the translation of a controversial French book on Osama bin Laden
and the 9/11 attacks
. Forbidden Truth: US-Taliban Secret Oil Diplomacy and the Failed Hunt for Bin Laden, by Jean-Charles Brisard
and Guillaume Dasquié
, suggests that the attacks resulted from a breakdown in talks between the Taliban and the United States to run an oil pipeline through Afghanistan. Corn argued that publishing "contrived conspiracy theories" undermined the ability to expose actual governmental misbehavior.
official Ted Shackley, which received mixed reviews. The book used Shackley's climb through the CIA bureaucracy to illustrate how the Agency worked and to follow some of its Cold War-era covert operations. In the Washington Post, Roger Warner called it "an impressive feat of research"; but, in the New York Times, Joseph Finder
claimed Corn was seriously distorting history to blame Shackley for a series of CIA failings.
Corn moved on to fiction with a contribution to Unusual Suspects (1996), a paperback collection of crime stories published as a fundraiser to combat world hunger. His first novel, Deep Background, was a conspiracy thriller about the assassination of a President at a White House press conference and the ensuing investigation. Reviews praised Corn's mastery of the political atmosphere and characters, although they split on whether this was a virtue or, coming at the conclusion of the Clinton years, already all-too-familiar territory.
With the arrival of George W. Bush
, Corn became a harsh critic of the President. His next book, The Lies of George W. Bush, charged that Bush had systematically "mugged the truth" as a political strategy; and he found fault with the media for failing to report this effectively. The book also broke with journalistic practice for its explicit charge of lying, a word usually avoided as editorializing.
In particular, Corn criticized many of the arguments offered to justify the 2003 Invasion of Iraq
; and he challenged New York Times columnist William Safire
for claiming links between Saddam Hussein
and Al-Qaeda
. In Hubris, written with Michael Isikoff
of Newsweek, Corn analyzed the Bush administration's drive toward the invasion.
. After Robert Novak
revealed Plame's identity in his July 14, 2003, column, Corn was the first to report, three days later, that Plame had been working covertly; and he raised the possibility that the leak of her identity violated the Intelligence Identities Protection Act
.
Novak, for his part, disputed that Plame had been a covert operative at the time her identity was revealed. He also objected to the negative portrayal of himself in Hubris, for which he blamed Corn more than Isikoff. He said of Corn, "Nobody was more responsible for bloating this episode." Novak felt that Corn was too close with former ambassador Joseph Wilson
, Plame's husband and a key figure in criticism of the administration's arguments for invasion.
Mother Jones (magazine)
Mother Jones is an American independent news organization, featuring investigative and breaking news reporting on politics, the environment, human rights, and culture. Mother Jones has been nominated for 23 National Magazine Awards and has won six times, including for General Excellence in 2001,...
. He has been Washington editor for The Nation and appeared regularly on FOX News
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
, MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
, National Public Radio, and BloggingHeads.tv
Bloggingheads.tv
Bloggingheads.tv is a political, world events, philosophy, and science video blog discussion site in which the participants take part in an active back and forth conversation via webcam which is then broadcast online to viewers...
opposite James Pinkerton
James Pinkerton
James Pinkerton is a columnist, author, and political analyst. A graduate of Peter Vanleslie High School and Stanford University, he served on the White House staff under both Ronald Reagan and George H.W...
or other media personalities.
As an author, Corn's output includes nonfiction and fiction and generally deals with government and politics. Corn has also been a book reviewer. On one occasion, he criticized his own organization when Nation Books published the translation of a controversial French book on Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
and the 9/11 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
. Forbidden Truth: US-Taliban Secret Oil Diplomacy and the Failed Hunt for Bin Laden, by Jean-Charles Brisard
Jean-Charles Brisard
Jean-Charles Brisard is an international expert and consultant on international terrorism. He authored the first and most exhaustive study ever written on the financial network of the Bin Laden organization, "The economic environment of Osama Ben Laden"...
and Guillaume Dasquié
Guillaume Dasquié
Guillaume Dasquié is a French journalist and writer who specialises in matters of intelligence and terrorism.Dasquié graduated in Law in Paris in 1990...
, suggests that the attacks resulted from a breakdown in talks between the Taliban and the United States to run an oil pipeline through Afghanistan. Corn argued that publishing "contrived conspiracy theories" undermined the ability to expose actual governmental misbehavior.
Books
Corn's first book was a 1994 biography of longtime Central Intelligence AgencyCentral Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
official Ted Shackley, which received mixed reviews. The book used Shackley's climb through the CIA bureaucracy to illustrate how the Agency worked and to follow some of its Cold War-era covert operations. In the Washington Post, Roger Warner called it "an impressive feat of research"; but, in the New York Times, Joseph Finder
Joseph Finder
Joseph Finder is an American writer of several thrillers set in a business environment. His books include Paranoia, Company Man, Killer Instinct and Power Play...
claimed Corn was seriously distorting history to blame Shackley for a series of CIA failings.
Corn moved on to fiction with a contribution to Unusual Suspects (1996), a paperback collection of crime stories published as a fundraiser to combat world hunger. His first novel, Deep Background, was a conspiracy thriller about the assassination of a President at a White House press conference and the ensuing investigation. Reviews praised Corn's mastery of the political atmosphere and characters, although they split on whether this was a virtue or, coming at the conclusion of the Clinton years, already all-too-familiar territory.
With the arrival of George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, Corn became a harsh critic of the President. His next book, The Lies of George W. Bush, charged that Bush had systematically "mugged the truth" as a political strategy; and he found fault with the media for failing to report this effectively. The book also broke with journalistic practice for its explicit charge of lying, a word usually avoided as editorializing.
In particular, Corn criticized many of the arguments offered to justify the 2003 Invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
; and he challenged New York Times columnist William Safire
William Safire
William Lewis Safire was an American author, columnist, journalist and presidential speechwriter....
for claiming links between Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
and Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
. In Hubris, written with Michael Isikoff
Michael Isikoff
Michael Isikoff is an investigative journalist for NBC News, formerly with the United States magazine Newsweek. He joined Newsweek as an investigative correspondent in June, 1994, and has written extensively on the U.S...
of Newsweek, Corn analyzed the Bush administration's drive toward the invasion.
The Plame affair
Corn was personally involved in the early coverage of the controversy over leaks to the media of the name of CIA officer Valerie PlameValerie Plame
Valerie Elise Plame Wilson , known as Valerie Plame, Valerie E. Wilson, and Valerie Plame Wilson, is a former United States CIA Operations Officer and the author of a memoir detailing her career and the events leading up to her resignation from the CIA.-Early life :Valerie Elise Plame was born on...
. After Robert Novak
Robert Novak
Robert David Sanders "Bob" Novak was an American syndicated columnist, journalist, television personality, author, and conservative political commentator. After working for two newspapers before serving for the U.S. Army in the Korean War, he became a reporter for the Associated Press and then for...
revealed Plame's identity in his July 14, 2003, column, Corn was the first to report, three days later, that Plame had been working covertly; and he raised the possibility that the leak of her identity violated the Intelligence Identities Protection Act
Intelligence Identities Protection Act
The Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982 is a United States federal law that makes it a federal crime for those with access to classified information, or those who systematically seek to identify and expose covert agents and have reason to believe that it will harm the foreign...
.
Novak, for his part, disputed that Plame had been a covert operative at the time her identity was revealed. He also objected to the negative portrayal of himself in Hubris, for which he blamed Corn more than Isikoff. He said of Corn, "Nobody was more responsible for bloating this episode." Novak felt that Corn was too close with former ambassador Joseph Wilson
Joseph C. Wilson
Joseph Charles Wilson IV is a former United States diplomat best known for his 2002 trip to Niger to investigate allegations that Saddam Hussein was attempting to purchase yellowcake uranium; his New York Times op-ed piece, "What I Didn't Find in Africa"; and the subsequent "outing" of his wife...
, Plame's husband and a key figure in criticism of the administration's arguments for invasion.
Publications
- Blond Ghost: Ted Shackley and the CIA's Crusades. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994.
- Deep Background. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999.
- The Lies of George W. Bush: Mastering the Politics of Deception. New York: Crown Publishers, 2003.
- Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War. New York: Crown Publishers, 2006. (Co-author with Michael IsikoffMichael IsikoffMichael Isikoff is an investigative journalist for NBC News, formerly with the United States magazine Newsweek. He joined Newsweek as an investigative correspondent in June, 1994, and has written extensively on the U.S...
.)
External links
- David Corn's official website
- David Corn biographical sketch from The Nation
- David Corn profile from Crown Publishing Group
- Were We Misled? A Debate on Pre-War Intelligence (Episode of The Brian LehrerBrian LehrerBrian Lehrer is a radio talk show host on New York City's public radio station WNYC. His daily two-hour 2007 Peabody Award-winning program, The Brian Lehrer Show, features interviews with newsmakers and experts about current events and social issues...
Show on WNYCWNYCWNYC is a set of call letters shared by a pair of co-owned, non-profit, public radio stations located in New York City.WNYC broadcasts on the AM band at 820 kHz, and WNYC-FM is at 93.9 MHz. Both stations are members of National Public Radio and carry distinct, but similar news/talk programs...
with Corn as a panelist, February 15, 2006) - Video discussions/debates in which Corn has taken part on Bloggingheads.tvBloggingheads.tvBloggingheads.tv is a political, world events, philosophy, and science video blog discussion site in which the participants take part in an active back and forth conversation via webcam which is then broadcast online to viewers...