If the Times can't be prosecuted it brings into question the entire regime of information classification. What's the point of making something "secret" if it can, without penalty to anyone, end up on the front pages of "Pravda"? Why do we have Pollard in jail again?
Pollard was a spy
The NYT is hiding behind the 1st Amendment
However ... I think the leaker can be prosecuted
I think the same way.
If a reporter or an editor at the Times obtained this classified information jumped on a plane to Jordan, entered the Iranian embassy and turned over the info to an AQ associate would he be in violation of the law? Or does the self-applied title of journalists exempt one from prosecution so long as the information is turned over to our enemies via the national media.
IMHO the administration has no choice but to go after the Times. We simply can’t afford these leaks to continue for who knows what information will be leaked next.
I have no right or reason to know the information contained in the Times articles. I do have every right and reason to know who in my government is leaking this information to our enemies and putting my nation, soldiers, family and friends in harms way.