Topic: Emanuel Goldstein

Catherine Herridge defends her reporting on Anwar al-Awlaki's 2002 Pentagon visit, noting he was vetted as a "moderate Muslim" despite FBI interest in his contacts with 9/11 hijackers. A caller on C-SPAN refers to al-Awlaki as an "Emanuel Goldstein" character, a reference to George Orwell's 1984. Herridge describes al-Awlaki's return to the Pentagon as a "thief returning to the scene of a crime."

The hosts clarify the identity of Emanuel Goldstein, noting he is the fictional "enemy of the people" in George Orwell's 1984. They also mention the real-world Emanuel Goldstein, the pseudonym of Eric Corley, who publishes the hacker journal 2600.