How is it that The Washington Post’s Russian-speaking, vodka-drinking Moscow Bureau Chief, Dusko Doder (who died ten days ago at the age of 87), always seemed to get the biggest “scoop”?
As I recall, the “damning quote” was a blind, unattributed slander of a remarkable journalist. Dusko was a dear friend who valiently resisted calumny from ignorant individuals prepared to think and spread the worst about diligent, valiant, even briliant journalists. The KGB was petrified about Dusko, his bilingual fluency in accent-free Russian who with his winning personality was able to develop sources far beyond the capacity of any other journos covering Russian during the depths of the cold war. The CIA was equally jealous and as prepared as the KGB (today FSB) to spread calumny about an individual who regularly beat them in telling the world about what was really happening in the USSR. For shame, Mr. Cloud, for following Dusko and his memory beyond the grave with something that you know NOTHING about. For shame.
Matt Cloud
Matt’s Substack
just now
Well since I knew Dusko -- his son Peter lived with me in '86, during his father's divorce from Karin, who was among my mother's closest friends, and just as Dusko was being taken off the intelligence beat (as Ben Bradlee tells us in his memoirs), and I know the recipient of the damning quote -- my father, Stanley Cloud of TIME -- and the author of the story, Jay Peterzell, and perhaps most importantly, Pat Moynihan -- my former boss -- who actually gave the damning quote to TIME, which is why TIME settled the Doder suit the day before I joined Moynihan's staff on Aug 2, 1996, I'd say I know far more about this great story than you may realize. So save your feigned indignation.
Doder is actually NOT the issue in this story. He was sacrificed, to protect The Issue.
__
"September 18, 2018
MEMORANDUM OF CONVERSATION
SUBJECT: Telephonic conversation with Dusko Doder regarding Vitaly Yurchenko allegations in 1992 TIME magazine article
I spoke with Dusko Doder today, who called me at noon. His wife Louise Branson had called me earlier in the morning at eight o’clock, after I had called there yesterday afternoon and left a message. I had sent an email earlier in the day yesterday to Doder including the November 1985 letter from Senator Daniel P. Moynihan to CIA Deputy Director John N. McMahon expressing Moynihan’s “firm conviction” that Yurchenko was “genuine and was never a plant.” When Branson called I told her I had information that would perhaps be of interest to them, relating to the identity of one of the sources of the 1992 TIME story by Jay Peterzell alleging Doder had taken money from the K.G.B. while working as a reporter for the Washington Post in Moscow in the 1980s. She said they had conducted a lot of discovery during the subsequent libel suit and the name “Colin something” (former CIA analyst Colin Thompson, I inferred) had come up as a source. She also informed me that Doder had had a stroke and I think she said a mild heart attack recently, but that he was writing a book on the subject and that it would be “big.” She said neither of them had seen or read the email I had sent him.
When Doder himself later called it was apparent he was in poor health. His speech was strained and weak. I told him at the outset that I was speaking to him independently, that I was not calling on behalf of my father or anyone else. He said he understood. I asked him if he had by then read my email; he replied he had not, that it had ended up in the trash (whatever that meant). I told Doder that I had a theory as to who the source in the TIME article had been, who had been quoted as saying, “of course he [Doder] knew it was the K.G.B. This was the Soviet Union. What else could he think?” I told Doder that this quote came from John McMahon. I asked Doder if he knew who that was. He said “sure.” I then asked if he knew who it really was and he said “sure” again and I said it was Moynihan ....
...
I left open the possibility of working with Doder further on the subject, saying if he changed his mind, either he or his wife should get in touch with me. He said he would see. I said I hoped his health improved and he said thank you.
Why in his memoirs did Doder omit the damning quote against him? He wrote that only Amb. Hartman had been quoted. Not so -- the first quote was from a "former official of the CIA", who said as to the source of the alleged payment, "of course he [Doder] knew it was the KGB. This was the Soviet Union. What else could he think?" Who gave that quote to Peterzell? Or was it given to Cloud? By whom? Where? When? Could it have been John McMahon? He was a "former official of the CIA" by 1992. Or was it Moynihan, in his apartment at 801 Pennsylvania Avenue, in April 1992?
Why did Lousie Branson write that TIME never removed the story from online databases? It plainly had. You can't find it online; haven't been able to since 1996. Lexis/Nexis will confirm. (Coincidentally or not, The Washington Post has also removed its entire database from Lexis.) Branson, who I presume wrote the obit here, says this: "As part of the settlement, Time agreed to remove the false story about Dusko from its searchable database but has never actually done so. As part of the settlement, Time agreed to remove the false story about Dusko from its searchable database but has never actually done so."
David A. Andelman
43 mins ago
Author
As I recall, the “damning quote” was a blind, unattributed slander of a remarkable journalist. Dusko was a dear friend who valiently resisted calumny from ignorant individuals prepared to think and spread the worst about diligent, valiant, even briliant journalists. The KGB was petrified about Dusko, his bilingual fluency in accent-free Russian who with his winning personality was able to develop sources far beyond the capacity of any other journos covering Russian during the depths of the cold war. The CIA was equally jealous and as prepared as the KGB (today FSB) to spread calumny about an individual who regularly beat them in telling the world about what was really happening in the USSR. For shame, Mr. Cloud, for following Dusko and his memory beyond the grave with something that you know NOTHING about. For shame.
Matt Cloud
Matt’s Substack
just now
Well since I knew Dusko -- his son Peter lived with me in '86, during his father's divorce from Karin, who was among my mother's closest friends, and just as Dusko was being taken off the intelligence beat (as Ben Bradlee tells us in his memoirs), and I know the recipient of the damning quote -- my father, Stanley Cloud of TIME -- and the author of the story, Jay Peterzell, and perhaps most importantly, Pat Moynihan -- my former boss -- who actually gave the damning quote to TIME, which is why TIME settled the Doder suit the day before I joined Moynihan's staff on Aug 2, 1996, I'd say I know far more about this great story than you may realize. So save your feigned indignation.
https://daandelman.substack.com/p/unleashed-memoir-5-dusko-doder-rip/comment/69976003?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoyNzU0NDcxMywicG9zdF9pZCI6MTQ5MTY1NDM3LCJpYXQiOjE3MjcwOTM2NDksImV4cCI6MTcyNzM1Mjg0OSwiaXNzIjoicHViLTQxNDAzNiIsInN1YiI6InBvc3QtY29tbWVudHMifQ.19whmZufXmvQvz-L7YjwJXFiCDxABL3q64cf8RkVAdk#comment-70009977?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoyNzU0NDcxMywicG9zdF9pZCI6MTQ5MTY1NDM3LCJpYXQiOjE3MjcwOTM2NDksImV4cCI6MTcyNzM1Mjg0OSwiaXNzIjoicHViLTQxNDAzNiIsInN1YiI6InBvc3QtY29tbWVudHMifQ.19whmZufXmvQvz-L7YjwJXFiCDxABL3q64cf8RkVAdk
Matt Cloud
Matt’s Substack
27 mins ago
So you see I'm the reason TIME settled the Doder suit.
It's all right here for decoding by a discerning reader ...
https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP90-00965R000201640010-1.pdf
Matt Cloud
Matt’s Substack
just now
Doder is actually NOT the issue in this story. He was sacrificed, to protect The Issue.
__
"September 18, 2018
MEMORANDUM OF CONVERSATION
SUBJECT: Telephonic conversation with Dusko Doder regarding Vitaly Yurchenko allegations in 1992 TIME magazine article
I spoke with Dusko Doder today, who called me at noon. His wife Louise Branson had called me earlier in the morning at eight o’clock, after I had called there yesterday afternoon and left a message. I had sent an email earlier in the day yesterday to Doder including the November 1985 letter from Senator Daniel P. Moynihan to CIA Deputy Director John N. McMahon expressing Moynihan’s “firm conviction” that Yurchenko was “genuine and was never a plant.” When Branson called I told her I had information that would perhaps be of interest to them, relating to the identity of one of the sources of the 1992 TIME story by Jay Peterzell alleging Doder had taken money from the K.G.B. while working as a reporter for the Washington Post in Moscow in the 1980s. She said they had conducted a lot of discovery during the subsequent libel suit and the name “Colin something” (former CIA analyst Colin Thompson, I inferred) had come up as a source. She also informed me that Doder had had a stroke and I think she said a mild heart attack recently, but that he was writing a book on the subject and that it would be “big.” She said neither of them had seen or read the email I had sent him.
When Doder himself later called it was apparent he was in poor health. His speech was strained and weak. I told him at the outset that I was speaking to him independently, that I was not calling on behalf of my father or anyone else. He said he understood. I asked him if he had by then read my email; he replied he had not, that it had ended up in the trash (whatever that meant). I told Doder that I had a theory as to who the source in the TIME article had been, who had been quoted as saying, “of course he [Doder] knew it was the K.G.B. This was the Soviet Union. What else could he think?” I told Doder that this quote came from John McMahon. I asked Doder if he knew who that was. He said “sure.” I then asked if he knew who it really was and he said “sure” again and I said it was Moynihan ....
...
I left open the possibility of working with Doder further on the subject, saying if he changed his mind, either he or his wife should get in touch with me. He said he would see. I said I hoped his health improved and he said thank you.
Matt Cloud"
Why in his memoirs did Doder omit the damning quote against him? He wrote that only Amb. Hartman had been quoted. Not so -- the first quote was from a "former official of the CIA", who said as to the source of the alleged payment, "of course he [Doder] knew it was the KGB. This was the Soviet Union. What else could he think?" Who gave that quote to Peterzell? Or was it given to Cloud? By whom? Where? When? Could it have been John McMahon? He was a "former official of the CIA" by 1992. Or was it Moynihan, in his apartment at 801 Pennsylvania Avenue, in April 1992?
Grasshopper,
Why don't you tell me?
Your Mentor,
-- Stephen Sestanovich, I mean Tom
Why did Lousie Branson write that TIME never removed the story from online databases? It plainly had. You can't find it online; haven't been able to since 1996. Lexis/Nexis will confirm. (Coincidentally or not, The Washington Post has also removed its entire database from Lexis.) Branson, who I presume wrote the obit here, says this: "As part of the settlement, Time agreed to remove the false story about Dusko from its searchable database but has never actually done so. As part of the settlement, Time agreed to remove the false story about Dusko from its searchable database but has never actually done so."
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/dusko-doder-obituary?id=56299991
Did you know Doder's son lived with me during Doder's divorce from his first wife?
Wowie zowie.