Unfortunately, it's not as simple as protecting a source. Most shield laws, or proposed shield laws, as I understand them, protect a journalist from revealing a source who is exposing wrongdoing that is in the public interest. This is not the same thing. The act of leaking the identity of Ms. Plame is, itself, a crime, not the exposing of wrongdoing. Now, sending her to jail certainly betrays the spirit of shield laws, but freedom of the press does not necessarily protect a journalist who is shielding a felon.
On 10/19/05, Chris Clymer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > Hash: SHA1 > > You're just trolling, right? > > "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or > prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of > speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to > assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." > > Sending a reporter to jail for not revealing her source sure sounds like > its infringing on freedom of the press to me. The issue isn't HER. The > issue is that if I'm someone that wants to blow the whistle on > something, I'm going to be less likely to do it if the reporter I tell > might reveal me as her source. And of course, reporters might be less > likely to cover such stories if they may end up choosing between > protecting the source and jail. > > "On July of 2005, Miller was jailed for contempt of court by refusing to > testify before a federal grand jury investigating a leak naming Valerie > Plame as a covert CIA agent. Miller did not write about Plame, but is > reportedly in possession of evidence relevant to the leak investigation. > According to a subpoena, Miller met with an unnamed government official > ? later revealed to be "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's Chief of > Staff ? on July 8, 2003, two days after former ambassador Joseph Wilson > published an Op-Ed in the Times criticizing the Bush administration for > "twisting" intelligence to justify war in Iraq. (Plame's CIA identity > was revealed by political commentator Robert Novak on July 14, 2003.)" > > That woman went to jail for not revealing the source, on a story SHE > NEVER EVEN WROTE. Thats dedication. > > Major Variola (ret.) wrote: > > So this dupe/spy/wannabe journalist thinks that journalists > > should be *special*.. how nice. Where in the 1st amendment is the class > > journalists mentioned? She needs a WMD enema. > > > > > > LAS VEGAS (AP) -- New York Times reporter Judith Miller defended her > > decision to go to jail to protect a source and told a journalism > > conference Tuesday that reporters need a federal shield law so that > > others won't face the same sanctions. > > > > http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=1104064 > > > > > > - -- > Chris Clymer - [EMAIL PROTECTED] > PGP: E546 19B6 D1EC 47A7 CAA0 8623 C807 398C CD27 15B8 > > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- > Version: GnuPG v1.2.7 (GNU/Linux) > Comment: Using GnuPG with Thunderbird - http://enigmail.mozdev.org > > iD8DBQFDVnALyAc5jM0nFbgRAhiIAKCCDAizX/32F3U8BEAEZo1jmbufjACeOATk > UAp601vKKywgkklcAWd0iaI= > =73ed > -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- > > >