Thread by @benjaminwittes

I don’t know the truth of #sarcasmgate and I really don’t want to see Rod Rosenstein get fired. But both @nytmike and @adamgoldmanNYT are excellent reporters. They are under a lot of fire today. Reminder that their job is not to tell you what you want to hear. That’s all I got.

Another thing: I don’t know how the Times got access to this material but I don’t believe it was White House leaks. I am unaware of the White House having access to the McCabe material.

Still another thing: this was a crazy time. Really crazy. I can’t fathom why McCabe would have memorialized a sarcastic joke—unless he misunderstood it as serious. That’s certainly possible.

It’s also possible that the source in the room remembers the comment now in a fashion convenient to Rod Rosenstein’s current needs. I’m sympathetic. Really am. But there’s no need to attack reporters for doing their jobs.

The key thing to understand here is that this is a fight between McCabe and Rosenstein.

McCabe is facing an investigation and possible prosecution for false statements on unrelated matters. Rosenstein is also partly responsible for his firing. Many people at DOJ and the FBI don’t like Rosenstein—for a lot of reasons.

So here’s what I think happened: someone decided that he or she could help McCabe create a record of heroic post-Comey-firing opposition to Trump that would make any effort to prosecute him look like political retaliation.

Along the way, the facts revealed might make Rod look bad.

DOJ then pushed back, offering a source who does not deny the facts but has a different interpretation, one that doesn’t look so bad for Rod.

I don’t know which interpretation is right. And neither do you. Both accounts undoubtedly serve the interests of what are effectively rival camps here. As more facts emerge, we may develop a better sense of which group is closer to the truth.

But the Times reporters here are not villains. They are dealing with real material and they are doing their best to report it accurately.
So chill, folks. Just chill.