Republicans, I keep seeing you moaning about anonymous sources, and how they're no good.
So going forward, no more anonymous source...yes?
You know, I think given all the rancor they make about anonymous sources, Republicans think that "anonymous" is synonymous with "nonexistent," which, of course, it is not.
Moreover, the leader of the Republican party is easily the greatest user of anonymous sources. How often have we heard Trump say things like "people are saying," "people have told me," and so on. Does he even, as journalists do by using languages such as, for example, "a source at 'such and such' organization," broadly identify what people (to say nothing of credible people) said the things he claims they did? Not once that I'm aware of has he so done.
Hell, even when he attests to the assertions of specific individuals and organizations, he does so only with regard to organizations and speakers whom he knows will neither confirm nor refute his attestations, thereby allowing Trump to get away with not producing anything that expressly corroborates his claim. For example, Trump has claimed the IRS has commenced an audit of his tax returns (though he's not been specific about what recent tax years' returns are under audit), yet he's not even shared the IRS letter indicating that is indeed so. The IRS isn't going to comment on the veracity of that claim because legally they cannot. His attorneys/tax accountants won't because his discussions with them are privileged. Thus there is nobody who, and no entity that, can or will contemporaneously confirm or deny the verity of Trump's claim about his recent (2013 - 2016) tax return(s) being audited by the IRS.