Long before Wikileaks and social media, the journalist Drew Pearson exposed to public view information that public officials tried not to reveal. A self-professed <"keyhole peeper", Pearson devoted himself to determining what politicians were doing behind closed doors. From 1932 to 1969, his daily <"Washington Merry-Go-Round>" column and weekly radio and TV commentary broke secrets revealed classified information and passed along rumors based on sources
high and low in the federal government. Intelligence agents searched fruitlessly for his sources, yet rarely learned them. Drawing on Pearson's extensive correspondence, diaries, and oral histories, The Columnist reveals the mystery behind Pearson's leaks and the accuracy of his most controversial
revelations.