Today's conspiracies were yesterday's facts on the ground
Part III
William Safire hinted White House “mole” may have aided 9-11 terrorists

By Peter Duveen

PETER'S NEW YORK, Jan. 5, 2009—The discovery in my personal archives of issues of The New York Times and the New York Post from the days immediately following September 11, 2001 has become the basis for a several-part series on early reportage of the events of that day. The use of the original issues as opposed to electronic media has the advantage of easy reference, and absolute reliability regarding the source. This third essay will explore the remarkable drama surrounding the activities of President George W. Bush on that fateful day. We find that once New York Times columnist William Safire came into possession of the facts related to Bush’s 10-hour absence from Washington, he concluded that a “mole” in the White House may have cooperated with the 9-11 terrorists. He is thus joined at the hip with Robert Novak, who came to a similar conclusion in his column of the same day.