From Wikipedia: “A Kinsley gaffe or ‘gaffe in Washington’ in American politics is the term used for telling the truth by accident: in other words, it describes the situation when a politician says something inadvertently in public which he or she privately believes to be true, but which he or she would ordinarily refrain from saying publicly since he or she believes the statement would be politically harmful or damaging.”
All of which seems relevant in light of this development.
Greg Marx is an associate editor at CJR. Follow him on Twitter @gregamarx.