The public’s right to know is one of the most cherished contracts in the American ideal of self-government. In Washington, that idea faces a test. A new book out Tuesday by two seasoned Washington correspondents alleges that close allies of President Joe Biden, including his family, concealed the extent of his mental decline. But “Original Sin” isn’t just about an alleged cover-up that left the Democratic Party scrambling for a new candidate late in the election year. It’s also about a press corps that some observers say didn’t push hard enough to get at the facts in real time. More books are coming. The “what if’s” of the Biden-Trump years persist.

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