Posted on 06/23/2006 11:04:09 PM PDT by bnelson44
CAN JOURNALISTS REALLY BE PROSECUTED for publishing national security secrets? In the wake of a series of New York Times stories revealing highly sensitive counterterrorism programs, that question is increasingly the talk of newsrooms across the country, and especially one newsroom located on West 43rd Street in Manhattan.
Last December, in the face of a presidential warning that they would compromise ongoing investigations of al Qaeda, the Times revealed the existence of an ultrasecret terrorist surveillance program of the National Security Agency and provided details of how it operated. Now, once again in the face of a presidential warning, the Times has published a front-page article disclosing a highly classified U.S. intelligence program that successfully penetrated the international bank transactions of al Qaeda terrorists.
Although the editors of the Times act as if prosecution is not a possibility, not everyone concurs. One person who is still mulling the matter over is Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Asked in late May about the prospect of prosecuting the Times and others who publish classified information, he by no means ruled it out. "There are some statutes on the books," he said, "which, if you read the language carefully, would seem to indicate that that is a possibility."
(Excerpt) Read more at weeklystandard.com ...
Prosecute if they fail to reveal the piece of government trash that let them in on the existence of the program.
Congress should pass a new law that says beating the living $#!) out of a journalist is equivalent to jaywalking and a $25 fine.
Infiltrate their "newsroom", and find out who in the gov is leaking, discredit, prosecute, and shut them down.
I would suggest people write their congressmen and insist these people are prosecuted.
Treason, plain and simple. Covers the leaker and the publisher.
Couldn't we only prosecute them if a war had been officially declared? Not sure how that works.
Why wouldn't they?
The media thinks the 1st Amendment gives them protection to publish anything they want, including misleading opinions, and to leak classified government info to our enemies. Their prime motive though, is to harm our President and his administration's goals.
YES!
Whoever knowingly and willfully communicates, furnishes, transmits, or otherwise makes available to an unauthorized person, or publishes, or uses in any manner prejudicial to the safety or interest of the United States or for the benefit of any foreign government to the detriment of the United States any classified information . . . concerning the communication intelligence activities of the United States . . . shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both .
I dont know why a Grand Jury cant be empaneled to investigate a crime.....journalists called in to testify as to their sources...and if they refuse, then ala Judy Miller, off to jail.....!
Lighten up. The penalty doesn't seem to fit the offense.
I was thinking more in terms of $4.75 and a commendation.
But I know your heart is in the right place. Mahalo
No.
Whoever knowingly and willfully communicates, furnishes, transmits, or otherwise makes available to an unauthorized person, or publishes, or uses in any manner prejudicial to the safety or interest of the United States or for the benefit of any foreign government to the detriment of the United States any classified information . . . concerning the communication intelligence activities of the United States . . . shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both [emphasis added].
The applicable law was passed post-WW II as the result of a book published pre-WW II.
Read the article.
I am just sick about this. Why the heck was I in OIF? So the NY Times could sell me and my buddies out for "the public interest"?
I can't print what I would like to see happen to these dirtbags. The very thought that most likely nothing will happen to them despite this vile treason is depressing.
Maybe we deserve to lose.
Little Pinch would make a wonderful cellmate.
bttt
Prosecute both. Otherwise, the papers will continue...
"There are some statutes on the books," he said, "which, if you read the language carefully, would seem to indicate that that is a possibility."
So, Gonzales - DO IT! How many more national security secrets need to be spilled before you act!!!
NO.1., National security is in force, war or not.
No 2 - Bush didn't go to war without the approval of Congress - why wouldn't it be a 'war'?
That needs to be brought up to today's dollars....otherwise, it's moot - 10k is a drop in the bucket, not a deterrent
I think all you guys are going at this the wrong way. First..you should declare that any information within the NY Times is fair game, and proceed to hack into their server...this includes subscription info...employee info...etc. Second, you declare that the private lives of the reporters are now public knowledge and proceed to follow these guys and report via blogs what they are actually doing. If they are spending 3 hours every Thursday at Madam Lesley's apartment...then the public ought to get that info. Third...in terms of finanical gains and losses....its time to hack into their info and protray the actual finanical bottom line on the newspaper.
After a month of blogging this info and declaring nothing secret about the Times...they will start to fall back and regroup. They won't like having their private business hung in the sunshine or their personal lives displayed. And if this works so well with them...then we move onto Newsweek and Time. They all deserve a taste of reality.
I want them locked up, driven into bankruptcy, including the loss of all personal assets and much, much worse.
We can't win the WoT until we deal with these traitors!!
And state the reports with the most self righteous, pious attitude that you can put on, that the "public has a right to know who and what these people are. That the public demands it!"
BTTT
Am I the only one that thinks this was a trap that the NYT walked into? More fireworks to follow.
I can't even tell you how down I am about this. So long as the government is going to slink away every time the NYT invokes the words 'public interest', we're screwed.
Every disgruntled or morally flexible worker in every classified program out there has a chance to take revenge against the system by selling out in a way that would be a death penalty case if he did it to a foreign government. What's worse is that the effect is the same, but instead of having to fear for his neck, he's lauded as a brave whistleblower and protected by the media establishment.
And the government sits by and watches helplessly.
If there's no penalty, and lots of gain, expect people to do it. If the government doesn't have the stones to stand up and take action against these people, I'd just as soon they stop crying about the leaks altogether.
He'd better hurry. We only have three left.
Wasn't Howard Dean throwing a hissy fit about Rove not being indicted last week? I seem to remember him complaining about leaking "National Security information during a time of war"
They need to do a better job of punishing these people...Still no frogmarching from the NSA leaks!
Correspondence to the Department, including the Attorney General, may be sent to:
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
BY E-MAIL:
E-mails to the Department of Justice, including the Attorney General, may be sent to AskDOJ@usdoj.gov.
Best post of the thread. And you're right - either do something about it or shut up...
I think the Times article quotes 20 anonymous sources in the Gov for this info.......that's 20 traitors in the Gov alone and not counting the traitors at the Times...
Its inevitable.
Everyone ignores one obvious reason why these newspapers release this information.
It is the 800 pound gorilla in the room. No one wants to talk about it.
1. They release the information because they are on the side of the terrorists and are doing their espionage work for them. Liberals have found that if they condemn classified information as "abuse of power," then they can call themselves "whistleblowers" instead of spies. Then they get lauded for their courage.
Every Rat pundit on tv yesterday defended this by saying that *it's Americans right to know*......that's their talking point.
Classified information is classied all the time, war or not. Disclosing it is, and always will be a crime.
No way, Gitmo is too plush. They need to go to Ft. Leavenworth, KS.
Actually- once the Times let the administration know in no uncertain terms it was going to publish the story- the admin gave them people to talk to so they would publish facts rather than supposition.
The NYT's has no bottom level..it simply goes deeper down, always able to find a new and more destructive level. SOB's.
They don't deserve that good of a treatment.
That's a technique.
I'd have thrown them in prison for endangering the lives of Americans and selling out their country in order to win a Pulitzer prize, but whatever.
The one person we have heard zip from lately is Rockefeller. (I think). He was so verbal about the NSA spying, it makes me wonder if he is under investigation.
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