"Downing Street Memos" Forged By Reporter

The infamous "Downing Street Memos", purported by leftists to show a conspiracy between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George Bush to fudge intelligence data regarding the threat posed by Iraq's Saddam Hussein, were actually forged by a British journalist. From the Associated Press [emphasis added]:

The eight memos — all labeled "secret" or "confidential" — were first obtained by British reporter Michael Smith, who has written about them in The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Times.

Smith told AP he protected the identity of the source he had obtained the documents from by typing copies of them on plain paper and destroying the originals.

The AP obtained copies of six of the memos (the other two have circulated widely). A senior British official who reviewed the copies said their content appeared authentic. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the secret nature of the material.

That's right, Michael Smith has admitted to forging the memoranda and destroying the alleged originals he used as models. Then AP, knowing full well that the documents are fake, has an anonymous source make a cursory judgement on their authenticity. Shades of Dan Rather's "fake but accurate" fiasco. Are there no honest journalists left in the mainstream media?

Via Captain's Quarters.