Quote:
Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
Apparently you and I -- unlike Burger -- share a belief in First Amendment values so strong that we don't think Robert Novak should be forced to tell a court who outed Valerie Plame. If bilmore were here, he'd need smelling salts.
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Bilmore shouldn't start getting "the vapours" too soon. I don't know if he should be compelled. For example, I do not think it would be wrong to condition a plea bargain for any criminal violation he may have committed by disclosing Plame's identity (disclosure of security secrets) on a requirement that he disclose his source by way of cooperation.
Besides, he's only entitled to the protections of
Branzburg, which doesn't assume a result --- he'll be forced to rely on his own Fifth Amendment privilege if (1) there is a probable cause to believe he has clearly relevant information regarding a specific probable violation of law; (2) the information cannot be obtained in some other way that doesn't so heavily infringe on the First Amendment; and (3) there is a compelling and overriding interest in the information.
I'm pro-Shield Law, but I'm not a First Amendment absolutist.
