A federal appeals court ruled 2-1 this week that a federal prosecutor can inspect the telephone records of two New York Times reporters. The prosecutor is trying to identify confidential sources who told reporters Judith Miller and Philip Shenon about actions the government was planning to take against two Islamic charities, The New York Times reported. The dissenting judge argued that the government had failed to demonstrate it truly needed the records. And he was concerned, rightly so, about the ruling’s possible impact on reporting.
“Reporters might find themselves,” Judge Robert D. Sack said, “as a matter of practical necessity, contacting sources the way I understand drug dealers to reach theirs — by use of clandestine cell phones and meeting in darkened doorways. Ordinary use of the telephone could become a threat to journalist and source alike. It is difficult to see in whose best interests such a regime would operate.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
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43 Comments
Wow. Read down a little bit, and you find that the ‘federal prosecutor’ is none other than Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the hard-nosed always-gets-his-man gumshoe of Plamegate fame. And now he’s just another stooge of the evil Bushitler regime. Wonder how they got to him.
If the “jihaddii’s friend” the New York Times wishes to interfere in Federal law enforcement investigations then they shouldnt be too surprised about being investigated themselves. If you aid and abett criminals don’t be surprised if you are treated like one.
Double wow. The two NYT reporters are Matthew Cooper (I though he was with Time though) and Judith Miller, ALSO of Plamegate fame. It says Miller “retired” from the Times last year; as I recall, her former masters said some not-very-nice things about her after she left. Guess she’s a heroic defender of Constitutional freedoms again, though. As embodied in Bill Keller and Pinch Sulzberger.
But I digress. Given the players involved, it’s plain as day this is a Rovian plot of some sort. Perhaps they can sort it out at Kos or DU.
Gee Phillip.
Not even the lefties on this blog can bring themselves to come to the defense of the crimes committed by the Times.
Heckler- Ever heard of Watergate?
gster
WTF?
Watergate was about a coverup of a minor crime.
The New York times printed a story about an active investigation into an organization that was being investigated for funding terrorist organizations. It deeply compromised that investigation. The only people covering anything up is the Times trying to protect it’s own butt.
What’s the parallel?What’s your point?
The crime was minor enough to bring down a President!The point for me is I can stand a free press doing it’s function with all the warts that both you and I might not like, rather than a government doing god knows what behind locked doors without our knowledge or permission. Freedom has its price , but there are limits. Do you want George the Worst and his flock that kind of cover, without a free press in action? He now makes or breaks laws at will in the open, without an oversight it would get worse.One of our forefather said something to the effect that he would rather have Free Press without a Constitution than a Constitution without a Free Press.
Lame. Even the moonbats realize the futility of defending the indefensible.
Score one for the Dark Side.
Hey, Jack, stick with vilifying the New York Times while your commander-in-chief of the world FUBAR’s Iraq, just like all thinking people said it would.
Let’s see how that works out for you, dude.
Well..
What is to argue? Conservatives being in favor increasing government influence and control of the press? Their hypocrisy and abaandoment of their own core beliefs?
I mean a head anchor of Fox news is now Propagand…..er I mean Press Secretary!
Hey keep accumulating power to the Executive! Soon it will bo one more to MY liking!
Then we can get to looking at the fiscal and communication records of churches!
So we’ll just put you boys down as being in favor of our courageous Pulitzer-winning girl reporter giving a “heads-up” phone call to terror suspects, so’s they can destroy evidence, prepare an ambush, skip town, etc.
Just so we know where you stand. Thanks for coming clean. We wouldn’t want anybody to question your patriotism or anything.
I really do not care your take my patriotism “JackStraw”.
There is more to patriotism than waving a flag and allowing an out of control executive ever more power.
This will come as another revelation to you.
Nobody is buying the “scary terrorists” stuff anymore. I don’t think such as you even buy it. But you will sell it to further the politics of your and he is your pResident.
Someday it will be MY President. Hey thanks in advance for the executive power!
Room and the Eagle:Is there ANY fact that would make you angry at the NYT, if that fact were published?Is publication alone a “get out of jail free card” when it comes to treason?From now on, all spies should turn their secrets over to the NYT, and thereby be granted 1st Amendment exemption from espionage charges.Free speach has limits.What are those limits when it comes to national security??Some of you need to seriously question the consequences of placing the media above the law.”The Constitution is NOT a suicide pact.” Abe Lincoln.By the way, it is painfully inconsistent to want anyone “punished” for “outing” Plame, whose braggart husband actually told everyone her status, — and to then give the NYT a pass.Novak’s Plame references put nobody at risk, and those references should have been expected by the Wilson/Plame team, after Wilson went public with bogus information in his op-ed piece after going on an unpaid political trip to Africa.Wilson’s op-ed did not match his oral report to CIA, Wilson agreed in Senate hearings that he had mispoken, the Washington Post admitted Wilson gave them bad information.And — Wilson’s wife, PLAME got Wilson the “job” that Wilson wanted everyone to think was given to him by Cheney.I can see why Wilon/Plame want to keep this “secret” but it sure as hell was NOT a national security secret.And, most importantly, no lives were put at risk by Novaks story, especially since Wilson wasn’t doing a very good job of “protecting” his wife’s status to begin with.The NYT put us all at risk.
Well the right said the left wasn’t showing up on this thread.
SO we showed up and the right shut up.
AND THEN comes Paul F Rosell! You rightie fear peddlers lose 10 credibility points for any arguement he joins!
Look face it! REASONABLE Americans are not buying the scare stuff anymore. You guys overplayed it and still are.
Prove me wrong.Name calling doesnt cut it
paulie………………..how is what the NYT published treason? Is that because rush, hannity and o’reilley say so?
Jackshit, (as in you don’t know)”So we’ll just put you boys down as being in favor of our courageous Pulitzer-winning girl reporter giving a “heads-up” phone call to terror suspects, so’s they can destroy evidence, prepare an ambush, skip town, etc.”
Your posts are so rabid, it’s hard to detect what it is you’re trying to get across. If you’re refering to Judith, she’s one of yours.Did you read the link? How about this part:“The move against the charities was not a surprise. No one has ever alleged that any federal agent was hindered or hurt or didn’t succeed.”Kind of like what we heard in the Plame case, huh?Or how about this?”No testimony has been sought from the reporters, and there has been no indication that their actions are a subject of the investigation.”
If there’s been a crime committed here, I’m all for letting the courts settle it, not loud-mouthed righties like JackShit and Paul.
By the way, Paul. Your post is so riddled with inaccuracies, it’s hard to decide where to even start.
You’re full of $hit.
THOSE EVIL SADAAMERS AT THE NYT SPILLED THE BEANS ABOUT NO WMDS! 9/11! ALQUADA! THEY AREN’T TELLING US THAT WE ARE WINNING THE IRAQ OCCUPATION! 9/11! WE NEED THE MISTRY OF TRUTH TO TAKE OVER! 9/11! THE MINISTRY OF PEACE WILL TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING!
Golly, you lefties got a bad case of potty-mouth. Or Tourrette’s. Didn’t your mommies ever tell you that only the ignorant and uneducated use those nasty words?
Vaya con Dios. It’s been a fun week, o my droogs/moonbats.
Oh, yes, I’m sure Valerie Plame Wilson coerced the CIA to send Joe Wilson to Niger. Boy, you righties sure give this woman a lot of power! Isn’t that rather fearless of you?
VALERIE PLAME WAS HAVING AN AFFAIR WITH BILL CLINTON AND GOT HIM TO USE HIS INFLUENCE WITH THE CIA. SHE WAS HOPING HE WOULD BE KILLED SO SHE COULD GIVE BILL A BLOWJOB.
What happen to the good old days when you could accuse someone of witchcraft and burn em at the stake?
Joe Wilson admitted in a Senate hearing that Valerie Plame had written a letter recommending him for the Niger assignment. This was after first claiming that wife Plame had NOTHING to do with the assignment, which lie was retracted when he was presented with a copy of that letter.Wilson reported in oral briefing to CIA that Saddam’s agents had indicate an interest in “expanding trade” with Niger. THE ONLY RESOURCE NIGER HAS TO OFFER IS URANIUM!Nobody was charged with “outing” Plame, pretty strong evidence that, under the statutes, Plame was either not “covert” or had already been “outed.”Where, exactly, did I make any mistakes?XXXMy POINT is exactly that we no longer charge ANYONE with treason anymore.Please take a look at what other people have done, to be CONVICTED of treason before shooting YOUR mouth off.Start with Tokyo Rose, she was convicted of “giving aid and comfort to the enemy” — not even revealing state secrets.XXX, you are avoiding my main question, restated: Is there such a thing as “treason” anymore??Or can the NYT print anything they want to print?
You are not old enough to have been a “red baiter” Paul. But your demeaner does suggest a desire to return to those dark times.
You are a little softer spoken than ya used to be Paul.
Folks we are dealing with a REAL chickenhawklittle here!
I’ll post some examples later. OR You can do a google on “Paul F Rosell says” or Paul F Rosell posted” or “Paul F Rosell wrote”. Paul is quite the shrill alarmist! He’s lost a little of the shrill. But the scary stuff still comes through.
JR,I never saw combat, but I DID enlist.You owe me an apology for the chickenhawk statement.
Boy, I am really confused. Who should I believe – PF Rosell or Patrick Fritzgerald? I mean they both have such great integrity, don’t they? One of them does research and the other seems to have never learned about that “R” word.
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/osc/documents/libby_indictment_28102005.pdf
I am sorry, I think I will go with Fitz, it was such a tough decision. NOT!
Paul, please go lie somewhere else, OK?
Gotta check out that battle of the links you cite Steve.
But for now I must apologize. I have called Paul F Rosell a “chickenhawklittle”.
Paul F Rosell posts that he “did not see combat but did enlist”.
I will err on the side of fairness and apologize for the “hawk” part of my earlier post.
You never posted as to having served in the military Paul. Without your mentioning that, I judged you by the company you keep and the posts that you share.
Now my effort to apologize demands of course that you better explain your service in the military. I’ll look forward to that.
I am off now to compare the links of Steven who I trust with those of Paul F Rosell who I do not. I hope my apology issued in the interest of erring on the side of fairness shows that I am of an open mind.
The rest of my earlier about Paul F Rosell he did not dispute. I will be presenting further shortly.
Paul HAD no links and due to limits of my technology I cannot access Stevens link.
So gotta go with credibility. Steve or as he used to be known “Darwins Disciple” has it. Paul F Rosell does not.
I’ll just go look for some other posts of Paul F Rosell.
It wasnt a “girl reporter” who gave the heads-up phone call. But it was a reporter from the Times.
It’s nice to see you folks on the left stand up and clearly say what you believe in.
Thanks
Paul, you asked, “Is there such a thing as “treason” anymore??”
treason:1 : the betrayal of a trust : TREACHERY2 : the offense of attempting by overt acts to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance or to kill or personally injure the sovereign or the sovereign’s family
Of course there’s such a thing as treason. But somewhere along the way, the meaning has been lost or politicized. For instance, I would say outing a CIA agent might be considered treason. In an earlier era, we would have agreed on that. But now we parse and split hairs instead of hunting down and prosecuting a traitor, or traitors.
I think (IMHO) a lot of the sting has been taken out of the term “treason” because the right uses the term so much. In today’s Bush/Bizzarro world, anything or anyone that doesn’t agree with the current administration is immeadiately labeled treasonous.The right claims that nobody was hurt or killed when Plame was outed. So show me documented evidence where anybody was hurt or killed because of the phone call alledgedly made by Times reporters.
If treason has been committed, it wasn’t by reporters. The so-called act of treason would have been committed by those who gave information to these reporters. If there’s been an act of treason, it needs to be persued. But charges of treason need to be fairly and evenly applied, and that doesn’t mean just to critics of this administration.
This current flap isn’t about treason, it’s about silencing critics in the press.
That’s not good for the Republic.
JRI enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1977. (actually, I signed up right after my 18th birthay, I think, in 1976, but I was still in High School at the time.)I received an Honorable Discharge 2 years later.Jimmy Carter was cutting down on forces and they didnt need me (or want me).There were some other issues involved, such as a birth defect that was not detected until a grapefruit sized black and blue welt appeared on my back.This was right at the cartridge belt area.I was a radioman, with low security clearance. I carried the radio during training missions.That radio was of course next to the regular pack.Together, they pushed on the cartridge belt at about the “L3″ area.I have an enlarged lumbar 3 vertibrae with NO tissue protecting it at all.This I did not know until Marine Corps service.I was offered a chance to quit bootcamp early and I refused. This offer came from a Navy corpsman, he did not have the authority of course, but his CO did. Of course, I didnt get the radioman MOS until after bootcamp. At that time, I didnt have much choice in the matter. I wrapped socks around the cartridge belt area. That helped but of course the brass didnt like the way it looked.I entered the military under a “college reserve program” with every intention of going to OCS and then flight school.A naval medical officer told me that with my back condition I would never be accepted into OCS.My response, to both a naval medical officer and my commanding officer was, “So I can carry your $50.00 pack but I can’t fly your $50 million dollar airplane?”The answer was not delivered in a pleasant tone, but they both answered in the affirmative.I went to the Wichita Veterans Administration on 2 occassions to verify, for the military, and myself, that my problem was inherited and was not caused by military service, but was exacerbated by military service.I requested to not be medically discharged and was given a full honorable discharge.I receive no VA benefits. However, I can also truthfully answer on medical forms and job applications that I was not medically discharged. In the end, I think that has been helpful to me.These days, I avoid cartridge belts and radio packs and I sit kind of funny in chairs, with my ass a few inches away from the back, to protect myself, and my back is just fine.Thank you for asking, and your apology is accepted.My opinion of you has improved.
SteveIf you recall, on the other thread, the purpose of my “millionaires” challenge was to show that the “party of the rich” label often given to Republicans is a myth.Most of the wealth held by members of congress is held by democrats.Millionaires make up a greated percentage of Democrats in Congress than Republicans in Congress.However, I was WRONG to say that “most millionaires in Congress are Democrats” since the numbers work out pretty much 50/50 with perhaps more Republicans in that category, depending on how you count.Steve, It was not a knock out blow guy, try to contain yourself.Facts have purpose.My purpose was to show that the Republican Party is NOT the “party of the rich” and I won that argument.Your purpose is to nit pick and I will let you pic all the nits you want.
Marine Corps, huh? Well, there’s at least one point in your favor.
You are so far completely wrong on everything Paul and still my first target.
But you will find that while I can be mercilessly harsh I am also ALWAYS fair. If I am wrong or as above mis-informed (as to your military service….NOTHING ELSE) I will be the very first to admit it.
XXXSemper Fi
XXXSemper Fi
Do or die, Rah!
I almost forgot.
God bless Chesty Puller.
XXX
“I would say outing a CIA agent might be considered treason”
Was a CIA agent outed? Who did it? Has someone been charged with outing a CIA agent? Why hasnt there been an investigation?
If your talking about Valerie Plame she was an analyst, not a covert agent. Otherwise outing her would have been a crime. Ask Patrick Fitzgerald.
Heck, the CIA says she was undercover. I guess they were lying, huh?
More evidence that reporters can’t be trusted, the Reuters pictures out of Lebanon have been FAKE:http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3286966,00.html
What Paul Rosell and others don’t want you to see:
Archive reveals more Vietnam atrocities
Retired Brig. Gen. John Johns, a Vietnam veteran who served on the task force, said he once supported keeping the records secret but now believes they deserve wide attention in light of alleged attacks on civilians and abuse of prisoners in Iraq.
“We can’t change current practices unless we acknowledge the past,” said Johns, 78.
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/nation/15208766.htm
BenI have no trouble with the truth.What you just posted is an honest report, we can test the evidence and the facts later.However, What John Kerry said about Vietnam and Cambodia was obviously false, since Kerry was NEVER in Cambodia, and some of the people Kerry quoted in his book and took with him on his Jane Fonda tours were NEVER in Vietnam.Reuters has had trouble in the past with some of their people. This time, they got caught red handed.http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3286966,00.html