Rachel Maddow interviews Gina Smith, the reporter for The State newspaper who broke the story that Mark Sanford had been in Argentina, not hiking the Appalachian Trail.
Some very interesting revelations:
- Smith said The State received the Sanford e-mails in December from an anonymous source, though she hadn't had them the entire time.
- Because of the e-mails, Smith had a hunch that Sanford might be in Argentina. As a result, she decided to drive to Atlanta and wait outside the gate where a flight from Argentina would land.
- Sanford was surprised when he saw Smith and took several minutes to compose himself before claiming that he had initially intended to go hiking, but instead went to Argentina to enjoy the coast.
- Smith did not confront Sanford about the e-mails at the airport, and Sanford did not confirm an affair.
- After interviewing Sanford at the airport, The State communicated with Sanford's office about the existence of the e-mails.
So here's the question raised by Maddow: if The State hadn't been in possession of the e-mails (which they apparently received anonymously, which could have explained why they hadn't been published earlier), would we ever have found out that Sanford had gone to Argentina -- and the reason why?
Or, as seems probable, would Sanford and his office have continued their stream of lies concerning the his whereabouts and availability to act as governor?