MR. RASENBERGER: This is February 4, 2008, and we are resuming the
oral history of Judge Silberman, notably the Addendum to it regarding his activity since
our last discussions in 2002. And I wanted to ask you, Judge, whether you have any
comments on the reactions to your appointment to the Commission. I don’t think I asked
you that the last time we were together.
JUDGE SILBERMAN: No, I don’t think you did. Well, I was rather
surprised that the day I was selected, the Los Angles Times came out with a rather
negative story based in large part on a book by David Brock. Actually, that is not
adequate. It was based on a press release, or a white paper, that the People for American
Way sent to newspapers all across the country criticizing me, and their white paper was
drawn from the David Brock book, plus a slight rehash of an accusation that I referred to
in my earlier sessions with you, and that was my involvement, or non-involvement as the
case may be, with the fantastic October Surprise story. So, I should like to deal with both
of those now. What actually happened is, I believe the day after the Los Angeles Times
story appeared, the minority leader of the Senate, Harry Reid, and his – I think it was
Senator Conrad, who had a position in the Democratic leadership – strongly criticized my
appointment as a partisan and referred to the Brock book and the matter that was covered
in the October Surprise investigation.
MR. RASENBERGER: What was the name of the Brock book, if you
remember?
263
