Quote:
Originally posted by sebastian_dangerfield
More importantly, why is Ashcroft not at least trying to prosecute him? The DOJ under Ashcroft has been seeking to push the envelope of prosecutable offense using the terror prtext for some time. Seems Novak is an excellent test case for the law you cite above. At a minimum, a diligent prosecutor would charge Novak to squeeze him into providing info.
|
Ashcroft recused himself, and the prosecutor on this (the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois) is, by all accounts, pushing hard. If Bush really wanted whoever outed Plame to be nailed, he would tell them to fess up. Or he would retroactively waive the off-the-record thing, like the White House did when it made public Richard Clarke's off-the-record briefings with journalists in an effort to try to embarrass him. But it's hard to fault the prosecutor for failing to go after Novak. How do you prosecute a journalist for repeating something said by a government official?
I'll take my answers on the PB.
