Privacy

Would you name her?

From Rex Smith, editor of the Albany Times Union:

I'm doing something here that's not very nice: I'm letting you know that I know something you don't know. And while I'll tell you why I'm keeping this secret, I will not tell you what I know.

I know -- in fact, several of us in the Times Union newsroom know -- who was riding in the car with ex-U.S. Rep. John Sweeney when he was driving drunk on the Northway last Sunday morning. A lot of people are curious about the woman, but you're going to just have to stay that way.

Of course, if the woman wanted to talk to us, we would share her story with you. But she has chosen to remain silent, and we're going to honor her privacy.

Ever since reporters first learned about Sweeney's arrest, there has been a lot of curiosity about the account of state troopers that a woman was on Sweeney's lap when he was pulled over. The troopers hadn't seen her at first, they said; they were startled to realize there was a passenger in the car, along with the driver.