Durbin was source for column about Roberts

It appears that Dick Durbin's lies and hypocracy are becoming more brazen by the day.

Senate Minority Whip Richard J. Durbin acknowledged yesterday that he was the source for a newspaper column that reported earlier this week that Judge John G. Roberts Jr. said he could not rule in a Supreme Court case where U.S. law might conflict with Catholic teaching.

But the Illinois Democrat maintains that the column by George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley incorrectly captured the private conversation that the senator had with Judge Roberts in his Capitol office Friday.

When the column appeared Monday, Mr. Durbin's office clarified that "Judge Roberts said repeatedly that he would follow the rule of law".

Spokesman Joe Shoemaker also said he did not know who Mr. Turley's source was, although only a handful of people were in the room at the time.

He and Turley were in the green room of the NBC studios," he said. "Turley was getting makeup put on, and Durbin was taking it off. "They talked for about a minute, and I'm being generous," Mr. Shoemaker added.

"Durbin said Turley didn't identify himself as a journalist but introduced himself as a law professor." Both Mr. Shoemaker and Mr. Turley said large parts of the conversation concerned the writer's previous column. Mr. Turley said that after he wrote the Judge Roberts column, he read back portions of it to Mr. Shoemaker, whom, he said, verified the account. Mr. Shoemaker declined to comment further.

Considering Durbins propensity toward lying, I think I'll believe Turley's version.