Can Elliot sue Krainish?
Sure seems like he could. One would think that Krainish has those quotes documented (he does work for a major newspaper, where one would think this would be SOP, Jayson Blair to the contrary).
Time will tell, but I think the end result of this "he said, she said" is gonna be those quotes are accurate, just taken out of context and, when placed in context, ambiguous enough for different people to draw different conclusions.
The "other side" may be immoral in some respects, but I doubt they'd be stupid enough to have someone easily connectable to Kerry flat out fabricate such a high-profile piece.
We'll see.