Unreliable sources

In among a post on Internet dirty tricks, governmental and otherwise, Patterico reminds us of some of Glenn Greenwald's past flakiness.

And, at first glance, Edward Snowden is the very epitome of an Unreliable Source.

Which should serve as a reminder.  If these guys were peddling a bunch of easily-forged, word-processed purportedly-secret documents?  No one would take them seriously, apart from a few tinfoil-behatted cranks.

Except that our government reacted in a way that confirmed the authenticity of the leaked documents.

If the government had ignored the whole thing, apart from blowing raspberries and making cuckoo gestures?  They'd have had a hard time peddling their papers.