That was then. This is now.

That's regular language for what most embarrassed celebrities and politicians say when they realize they've said or done something they wish they hadn't: "It was taken out of context!"

How do you say that answering the question, "Do we have any idea how widely known it was in Washington that Joe Wilson's wife worked for the CIA?" with

It was widely known among those of us who cover the intelligence community and who were actively engaged in trying to track down who among the foreign service community was the envoy to Niger.

is taken out of context? Here's the "context""

So a number of us began to pick up on that. But frankly I wasn't aware of her actual role at the CIA and the fact that she had a covert role involving weapons of mass destruction, not until Bob Novak wrote it.

The problem is that she didn't have a "covert role."

All that last bit amounts to is a fig leaf disclaimer. It reminds me of a scene from a W. C. Fields where he's bragging to some one about knocking down "Chicago Molly." He shrimpy sidekick reminds him that he, not Fields, knocked her down. "Oh, yeah," says Fields, "But I was the one who started kicking her."