Great piece. Really takes me back. When I was 23, I was sent to DC to fact check Clifford's memoir. 1/ https://twitter.com/TimothyNoah1/status/1358452994900164617

When I arrived, I was introduced to Clifford in his dark office. The only available place for me to work was three doors down from clifford. I had a giant picture window overlooking the WH, wash monument, etc. Had a chat with Richard Holbrooke every few hours. 2/

The perspective of looking DOWN on the WH was one of those heavy-handed metaphors real life serves once in a while that you can only reconcile with "I guess god has a sense of humor/is angry with us." 3/

I've since met with tech billionaires, VCs, CEOs of major newspapers, but have never experienced that feeling of proximity to power, like standing next to tesla coil or something. 4/

At the same time, the gentility of the office really melted you. It was full-on mahogany law firm, yet they put the 23 year old checker in a partner's office. Clifford's own secretary was like if a fortune 500 ceo decided to be your mom for a week.

Very sweetly, but insistently she took over all the logistics of my life--food, lodging, transportation, mail, everything. She would ask "where are you staying." I'd mumble about my lack of a plan and 5 minutes later collated plans would show up on my desk, the hotel, directions.

I tracked down a military colleague of Clifford from the late 40s (on vacation in a hotel in california), whom they had not been able to find, and Holbrooke praised me like I was some rare genius or old friend or both.

A naval researcher who was working on the book confided amazing stories (now confirmed) that the nixon librarian told him there was proof nixon scuttled the Paris peace accords to prolong the war.

It was, iow, some magical palace where people were kind and helpful and deferential and preternaturally efficient and outraged by injustice. And immensely powerful. It was the vision of america and the American aristocracy you wanted to believe.

That very week, maybe three days later, the first BCCI story landed on the front page of the Post. The naval researcher came into my office. "Have you seen the story?" He asked. He explained it to me with the mordant excitement of a historian who got a front row seat.

"It's an incredible story and a hard one to take," he said. "A person like Mr Clifford who is so good and decent and who has accomplished so much maybe also has a character flaw. Maybe that's always the way, and we're seeing this venality in the news today."

An army of paralegals moved in to work the case. But somehow I retained my office, could still turn around after my eyes were bleary from reading documents and look down on the white house and the monuments.