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Quick, which detective case does the scandalous Hewlett-Packard leaker investigation resemble? The New York Times can't decide. Their latest piece on the scandal includes:

  • "Game of Clue"
  • "CSI: Corporate America"
  • "a Dan Brown thriller"
  • "Da Vinci Code"
  • "a proposal for a made-for-TV movie"
  • "a whodunit"
  • "Encyclopedia Brown"

To the Times's credit, the case really is this silly. The report produced by HP's investigators is filled with after-the-fact circumstantial evidence, its writers identifying George Keyworth as the boardroom leaker using his word choice quoted in CNET (The word "pooped," says the report, "is also an unusual term." The word "lectures" made the investigators guess the leaker had an academic history). To compare it to any real detective case would be an insult to the profession.

Hewlett's Hunt for Leak Became a Game of Clue [NY Times]