I don’t thiink the harsh language is warranted (although NK should have called Dr. H before running the July 2, 2002 column).
The NYT reports that the Judge indicated:
“There’s not a scintilla of evidence to suggest Dr. Hatfill had anything to do with it.”
That’s tough talk in legalese suggesting summary judgment would be warranted on the issue — that there is no triable issue of fact on the subject.
The reporting in 2002 and 2003 is perfectly understandable, however, given the high level of the position making the leaks.
Dr. H does not have a particularly strong footing on the moral high road given, his lawyer says, he falsely claimed he had a PhD in gaining access to dangerous pathogens.
The key omission or mistake is that NK did not call or contact Dr. H before the July 2, 2002 article.
The journalists are in the business of news, not analysis. On the rare occasion they are allowed to engage in analysis, and their editors authorize a budget that permits them to dig into and investigate the facts, they should pick up the phone and be sure they are giving the other side a chance to provide their input and clear up misunderstandings or mistakes.
Five years later, if we as a public can’t overcome the mistake — when the CIA director himself has published a book saying the anthrax planning was in parallel with the planning for the Planes Operation — then we have only ourselves to blame.
Background:
Press Release, “Judge finds Locy in contempt in Hatfill suit,” The Reporters Committee Freedom of the Press, February 19, 2008
http://www.rcfp.org/news/2008/0219-con-judgef.html
“The Go-To Lawyer of ‘Northern Virginiastan,’ ABA Journal, September 2007
http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/the_go_to_lawyer_of_northern_virginiastan/
Mary Beth Sheridan, “Hardball Tactics in an Era of Threats,” Washington Post, September 3, 2006; Page A01
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/02/AR2006090201096.html
Joby Warrick, “Suspect and A Setback In Al-Qaeda Anthrax Case: Scientist With Ties To Group Goes Free,” Washington Post , October 31, 2006; Page A01
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/30/AR2006103001250.html
If we really had an independent investigative media in this country instead of a bunch of lazy, agenda-driven lowlifes, they would be trying to find the answer to the REAL question in the whole sorry Steven Hatfill saga.
And that question is: just exactly why did that lady Barbara Hatch Rosenberg specifically point the finger right at Hatfill for being the killer with absolutely no real evidence whatsoever to back it up? There has to be some reason for why this all happened, but I have yet to see anyone so much as even raise the question!