Pressing On

Initially, the story involved a controversy concerning freedom of the press. It evolved into a tale of political intrigue running the gamut from hang em high treason to at the very least ethical impropriety. A top aide to the President may be headed to the political guillotine or possibly prison. The President has been forced to dance the D.C. two step because he spoke before he thought.

In it’s most simplistic form, the story began during a speech the President gave in his push for a justification for war with Iraq. Iraq was in cahoots with the country of Niger in an effort to acquire nuclear material for the purpose of manufacturing weapons of mass destruction. A claim even the President’s intelligence gurus found less than credible. Former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV was dispatched to Niger to investigate . The reports on who dispatched him are contradictory and ambiguous, but supposedly an employee of the CIA, Valerie Plame, recommended Wilson for the job. Plame also happens to be Mrs. Wilson IV and while her job title bore the innocuous label of an analyst, Plame was actually a covert operative for the Company.

Ambassador Wilson was unable to find the Iraq-Niger nuclear material nexus and lambasted Bush in a New York times op-ed piece in July 2003. Days later journalist, Robert Novak, reported on the Wilson trip and that Plame was a CIA operative. From that point on the issues and the cast of characters became much more complex.

Matthew Cooper and Judith Miller were two reporters also working on stories involving Wilson/Plame. Cooper of Time Magazine had a source who revealed Plame’s name to him. Miller of the New York Times likewise was privy to info from an anonymous source. Journalists wouldn’t be journalists without their private sources . Government officials like a President, Governor or Mayor aren’t going to freely give up information concerning their mistakes. Sources deep within the mechanics of the administration do the whistle blowing. So when a Federal grand jury and the special prosecutor investigating the case requested the two reporters to divulge their sources, they declined and now came face to face with contempt charges.

I firmly believe in the First Amendment. It is the foundation of our democratic system. There should be no restraint on our rights to free speech or a free press. Free speech…I’ll be the censor and damn the F.C.C. Free press….just give us the truth no matter the consequences. I believe that reporters have the right to shield their sources from governmental intrusion. It is our constitutional right to be well informed when governmental abuses are at hand. Unfortunately, the federal government wears very dark glasses when it comes to a reporter-source privilege. Journalists do not enjoy the likes of the lawyer-client, priest-penitent or husband-wife privileges except in 31 states and the District of Columbia. Legislation has been proposed, but until it is passed the presses are on pause. Cooper cut a deal to remain out of jail claiming that his source had released him from any further confidentiality and Miller, the only reporter to not have written a story, went dutifully off to jail, accepting the consequences for her actions.

Who were the sources that leaked the information and why is there such outrage? It seems that leaking the name of a CIA operative is a no no under the 1982 Intelligence Identities Protection Act. Albeit the entrance of a special prosecutor in the case. Of course the elements of the crime: knowingly…with intention….maliciously all make it difficult to prove the specific crime at hand. But what if the testimony of a witness before the grand jury smacked of perjury? Or how about getting the old gang together and concocting an entirely different story of how things happened? Obstruction of justice? So all the players haven’t made it out of the woods , yet. Then again, maybe they have an ace up their sleeves.

It’s ironic that I feel that journalists should be protected from the wrath of the legal system when it comes to divulging sources for this is the instance where the public needs to know the “who are you?”. For in a case like this, protecting the reporter also gives aid and comfort to the source. Seems that the top contenders for the “most likely to go to jail” award are none other than the Vice President’s top aide, Lewis (Scooter) Libby and Mr. Bush’s top bagman and trusted friend, Karl Rove. Although all the accounts of conversation timelines and recollection of exact conversation are vague, bottom line is that the CIA operative was outed in retaliation for her husband’s stance in making the public aware of the Bush war agenda. No whistle blowing here, but an attempt to discredit and do harm to an opponent of the President.

Libby claims that a reporter first told him of Plame and her status. Rove has made numerous trips to F.B.I. offices and before the grand jury. If Rove was Cooper’s source, why did he release Cooper from the confidentiality agreement? If Cooper was willing to go to jail over releasing Rove’s name, wouldn’t that have been beneficial to Rove? Or did the fact that the Time editor’s intention to reveal the source play some significant role in Rove’s reversal?

But even if the outcome is disastrous for theses top aides, they still hold the ace. Bush has had to eat his words once. His immediate response to the possibility of leaks from the White House was that any leakers would be out. He since hedged on that and now will oust any convicted leaker. Is he gazing the crystal ball? The ace? The pardon card.