SOURCE: Judis, John B. “Washington Diarist—Sid Unvicious.” New Republic (8 March 1999): 46.

In the following essay, Judis defends White House aide Sidney Blumenthal against the accusations made by Hitchens during the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal.

I initially resolved not to write anything about the quarrel between White House aide Sidney Blumenthal and author Christopher Hitchens. I've been friends with Sid for 20 years and used to be friendly with Hitchens until about a decade ago, when he abused my trust. But, after having had my opinions taken out of context in the press, I have decided to weigh in on this unpleasant controversy.

I first met Sid when he was writing about politics for the left-wing weekly In These Times and I was editing his copy. Covering the 1980 campaign together, we shared a foreboding that the Democrats would lose big. Since then, we've talked regularly. He has been a loyal friend and...