Time for the public and bloggers to expand the public inquiry, and support the NYT. They’re under siege by alleged domestic enemies of the US Constitu

NYT Reporter That Broke NSA Wiretapping Scandal Subpoenaed

By: billw on Saturday, February 2nd, 2008 at 6:38 AM - PST

I’m sure (well, not really) that it’s just a coincidence that as the FISA/telecom immunity debate comes to a head, the journalist who helped bring Bush and Cheney’s illegal domestic spy program to light has just been subpoenaed.

Jon Perr has a most excellent write-up about it:

That cheering sound you may have heard this morning was conservatives’ applauding the news that New York Times reporter James Risen has been subpoenaed in an effort to force him to reveal his confidential sources. But while Republican rage may be temporarily muted over the inquiry into Risen’s 2006 book, many on the right won’t be satisfied until Risen goes to jail for his cardinal offense, revealing President Bush’s illegal domestic surveillance program.

The subpoena James Risen received from a federal grand jury last week did not concern his 2005 reporting on the NSA domestic spying program. Instead, the Justice Department wants Risen to divulge his sources for a chapter on Iran’s nuclear program in his 2006 book, State of War. In it, Risen describes CIAs unsuccessful efforts during the Clinton and Bush administrations to infiltrate the Iranian nuclear program. … (do read on)

Lest anyone be confused, this is quite the opposite situation from when former NYT pseudo-reporter/White House shill, Judy Miller, was subpoenaed and went to jail for failing to reveal her sources in the CIA leak case. In her case she was refusing to name White House officials who were involved in government wrongdoing in which she had a role. In James Risen’s case, he exposed government wrongdoing that had been shrouded in secrecy, which is quite simply the most meritorious and patriotic deed a journalist can do, and is exactly why the fourth estate deserves to have a federal shield law to prevent government retaliation for exposing their crimes.

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On the post listing I found this MOST interesting comment!!

What DO we do about this latest assault on freedom

this time freedom of the press

We can educate ourselves on this things,

but what steps must we take to see that yet another

Constutional imperative is not ripped up and thrown away

Time for the public and bloggers to expand the public inquiry, and support the NYT. They’re under siege by alleged domestic enemies of the US Constitution. Allegedly this prosecutor, despite an oath to enforce Geneva, is supporting efforts to block evidence of war crimes in re Iran. The goal of the prosecutor appears less to identify a real source, but more to understand the methods the NYT is using to keep ahead of the President’s efforts to suppress open source information about alleged war crimes planning.

It is incorrect to assume the NYT only used classified, non-public sources. There are open sources which do point to information the President, NSA, and NSA contracting legal counsel do not want connected. Do not assume that the “only” way to arrive at these conclusions in the NYT or the book are through illegal methods.

There are things that can be done to corroborate information, and piece together open-source information which baffles the NSA. It’s likely the NYT has used a novel approach to do something the President and others didn’t consider needed hiding or protected. It’s the burden of the prosecutor to prove that there is “a source” as opposed to a method. There may not be “a source”; there could be a method of inquiry that is novel, and proprietary.

It’s the burden of the government to prove that the “only” way this information could be known was through illegal methods; or a leak. That is a burden the government needs to prove. The fact that they’re unable to find “the source” means they don’t know how the NYT reporter was able to arrive at the conclusions; hence, they have no case, just accusations. That’s not evidence, but insinuation by unsophisticated prosecutors. The prosecutor appears to only be going on a fishing trip to find an answer the domestic NSA-intercepts have not been able to pinpoint: How was the cover-up thwarted; and what will they do “next time” to hide all the evidence from the voters?

It appears the President and contractors are attempting to use the legal system to disclose the methods used to catch them. This has the appearance of corruption by the prosecutor, and contradicts the notion of justice: Oversight through an informed voting public. It appears the prosecutor has bought into the notion that any public discussion of alleged war crimes can only occur if there is illegal disclosures: That’s absurd. The illegal activity cannot lawfully be suppressed. The public should remind itself: There is a higher duty than the President: It is the oath of office which includes the Constitution and all treaties, including Geneva.

The grand jury is not well-advised to support a line on inquiry that seeks to suppress evidence of war crimes, illegal planning, or reckless US government activity. What’s most absurd is the GOP was in the “Clinton did it too”-crowd; but would ask that that accusation not be applied, and that it is “only” possible to conclude “there were efforts to penetrate Iran” using only illegal reporting and sourcing.

Why is the “Clinton did it too”-crowd upset that the disclosures occurred about the efforts in Iran? Because it shows that Clinton attempted to do something; and after 2003, the Bush President was unable to find what Clinton was concerned about. No longer did the US government have a pretext for war with Iran that they could take to the UN Security Council. This means the power balances has shifted away from the US, and includes Russia and China as credible sources of opposition to the US track record of reckless defiance of international law.