Bob Woodward memoir names sources for 'The Brethren'
New book 'Secrets' reveals identities of Supreme Court justices and others who provided information
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Photograph: Maryland GovPics via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
What this story says
- Bob Woodward's new memoir, 'Secrets,' will reveal the identities of confidential sources from his career.
- The book names five Supreme Court justices who provided information for his 1979 book 'The Brethren'.
- Woodward also details how he obtained a 75-page case history concerning the U.S. v. Nixon deliberations.
- The memoir also recounts an encounter with CIA Director William J. Casey.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 3 of the 9 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
50/100
Craft
45/100
Hype
20/100
9 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Bob Woodward is set to publish a new memoir titled "Secrets," which will identify confidential sources from his 55-year career. The book details how Woodward and Scott Armstrong interviewed five of the nine Supreme Court justices for their 1979 book "The Brethren," which examined the inner workings of the court under Chief Justice Warren Burger. At the time of "The Brethren's" publication, Woodward and Armstrong stated they had interviewed five justices and 170 former law clerks, but these sources were kept anonymous. Woodward writes in his memoir that people rarely shared secrets on the record, especially as events were unfolding.
The five justices named in "Secrets" as sources for "The Brethren" are Potter Stewart, Lewis Powell, Byron White, Harry Blackmun, and William Rehnquist. All are now deceased. Woodward's memoir also recounts how he obtained a 75-page case history detailing the court's deliberations in the landmark 1974 U.S. v. Nixon case. Woodward learned of the document's existence from Steven Goldberg, a former law clerk. Goldberg initially refused to provide a copy, but Woodward persuaded him to read it aloud while Woodward took notes. Woodward then took the document, made a photocopy, and returned the original the next morning.
The memoir also includes an account of an encounter with CIA Director William J. Casey. Woodward writes about entering Casey's room at Georgetown Hospital in 1987 and obtaining a bedside confession regarding the diversion of profits from arms sales behind the Iran-contra scandal. Woodward's 1987 book on the subject had faced accusations from some CIA leaders and Casey's widow that he had fabricated this encounter.
Disagreement on sources for "The Brethren"
Reason reports that Woodward's sources for "The Brethren" were "all the conservatives on the Court," noting that Woodward apparently did not speak with Justices Brennan, Marshall, or Stevens. Reason suggests that while Brennan may not have spoken directly to Woodward, one of Brennan's clerks may have leaked a critical document about the Watergate Tape Case. No other reports mention a disagreement about which justices spoke to Woodward.
What the coverage left out
None of the reports below mention the specific details of Bob Woodward's encounter with CIA Director William J. Casey, other than that it is included in the memoir. The full report from Reason provides details of this encounter, including the location and the nature of the confession obtained.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 7 times, most recently on 27 Oct 2026, 04:30, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
4 rated outlets
- Left-rated reports from aljazeera.net, Newser, The Seattle Times, and The Washington Post highlighted that Bob Woodward is revealing confidential sources in his upcoming memoir "Secrets." These reports noted that the book covers his 55-year career and includes information about his investigations into Watergate and other files. The Seattle Times and The Washington Post mentioned that Woodward, 83, is "pulling back the curtain" on who helped him achieve his "monumental scoops."
Centre
2 rated outlets
- Centre-rated reports from Reason and Political Wire focused on Bob Woodward revealing the identities of Supreme Court justices who spoke to him for his 1979 book "The Brethren." Reason specifically named the five justices: Potter Stewart, Lewis Powell, Byron White, Harry Blackmun, and William Rehnquist. Both outlets also noted that Woodward's memoir "Secrets" exposes his own sources, as reported by The Washington Post.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Bob Woodward memoir names sources for 'The Brethren'?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 67% are rated left, 33% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 9. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Bob Woodward memoir names sources for 'The Brethren' left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Bob Woodward memoir names sources for 'The Brethren' biased?
- Bob Woodward memoir names sources for 'The Brethren' is one event reported by 9 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Bob Woodward memoir names sources for 'The Brethren'?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Bob Woodward memoir names sources for 'The Brethren'?
- 9 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What is Bob Woodward's new memoir called?
- Bob Woodward's new memoir is titled "Secrets." It reveals the identities of confidential sources from his 55-year career as a journalist and author, including those who provided information for his earlier books and investigations.
- Which Supreme Court justices did Bob Woodward interview for 'The Brethren'?
- Bob Woodward's memoir "Secrets" names five Supreme Court justices who provided information for his 1979 book "The Brethren." These justices were Potter Stewart, Lewis Powell, Byron White, Harry Blackmun, and William Rehnquist. All are now deceased.
- How did Bob Woodward obtain the case history for U.S. v. Nixon?
- Woodward obtained a 75-page case history of the U.S. v. Nixon deliberations from Steven Goldberg, a former law clerk. After Goldberg initially refused to provide a copy, Woodward persuaded him to read it aloud, during which time Woodward took notes and later made a photocopy of the document.
Read it at the source
9 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
4- Dallas Power Woodward Reveals Half a Century of Press Investigations. (opens aljazeera.net in a new tab)
aljazeera.net — is aljazeera.net biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Woodward Reveals Sources Behind a Famous Nixon Scene (opens Newser in a new tab)
- Bob Woodward spills his ‘Secrets’ in upcoming book (opens The Seattle Times in a new tab)
The Seattle Times — is The Seattle Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Bob Woodward spills his ‘Secrets’ (opens The Washington Post in a new tab)
The Washington Post — is The Washington Post biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
2Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
3- Bob Woodward Reveals He Spoke With Justices Stewart, Powell, White, Blackmun, and Rehnquist for “The Brethren” (opens Utopia in a new tab)
- Bob Woodward reveals in his upcoming memoir, Secrets, the identities of many confidential sources who provided classified info throughout his 55-year career (Craig Whitlock/Washington Post) (opens mediagazer.com in a new tab)
mediagazer.com — is mediagazer.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Bob Woodward spills his ‘Secrets’ (opens 3 Quarks Daily in a new tab)
3 Quarks Daily — is 3 Quarks Daily biased? Our profile of this outlet
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