Stand Up, Howie

by emptywheel

I beat up on Howie yesterday. But today, I've got to say, he's doing the right thing. It's as if, in his own compromised way, he has heard Atrios' siren call.

As treason charges against the New York Times (but not, oddly, the Wall Street Journal) are getting thrown around on various "respectable" news outlets by people working in "journalism" I think it's probably time for the serious reporters at those outlets to inform management that their resignations will be forthcoming if it doesn't stop.

Silly people like me have been trying to warn you for years - you created, cultivated, nourished, and promoted these people. They're one of you. Take a stand, because pretty soon it's going to be too late.

Howie says:

Man, I have never seen this kind of Times-bashing before.

There is one heckuva conservative backlash building against the New York Times for publishing that piece about the administration's secret access to banking records in terror investigations.

[snip]

To be sure, the L.A. Times and Wall Street Journal, along with The Washington Post, also published stories last Friday on the classified program. But the NYT clearly was out in front and, in fact, held its piece for several weeks while dealing with the administration's objections.

[snip]

Some of the outside commentary is so over the top that I think those folks would repeal the First Amendment tomorrow if they could. And most of those proclaiming horror at the leaking of classified info were willing to give the White House a pass for the outing of the covert Valerie Plame.

Not bad, Howie, not bad. You noticed the extremism. You noticed your own paper's implication in this. And you noticed the clear hypocrisy coming from the administration that outed Valerie Plame. But then Howie lets his judgment intrude, with utterly fascinating results.

Still, I happen to think this banking story is a closer call than the Times scoop on the domestic surveillance program because there is no clear illegality in the bank monitoring program, which arguably there was on the eavesdropping front, and because it seems more narrowly targeted at bad guys, although we certainly don't have all the details.

"No clear illegality ... which arguably there was ... although we certainly don't have the details." If I'm not mistaken (and I could very well be mistaken, because there's a whole bunch of illogic and muddle in that passage), Howard Kurtz just declared the NSA domestic spy program "clearly illegal." You got that, Pat Roberts? Arlen Specter? David Addington?

My biggest gripe, though, is the implication of Howie's stand today. I did an admittedly very cursory review of Kurtz' WaPo reporting on domestic surveillance--the program he says is "clearly illegal," the program he says is less of a close call than the checkbook-rifling story? And while he reports on domestic surveillance when coverage of it nets awards, he doesn't seem to notice coverage of it when, say, the NYT sits on the story for a year after Bush personally asks Sulzberger to do so. Or when, say, Abu Gonzales starts making threats about the media reporting on domestic surveillance, and Wired calls his bluff.

You made a great start today, Howie, at calling out the buzzards on the right attacking our First Amendment. But if you're so convinced that the rest of this portfolio of surveillance is clearly illegal, don't you think you ought to use your soapbox to talk about that?

Comments

[Tom Maguire]

From Howie:

And most of those proclaiming horror at the leaking of classified info were willing to give the *White House* a pass for the outing of the covert Valerie Plame.

From EW:

And you noticed the clear hypocrisy coming from the *administration* that outed Valerie Plame.

Emphasis added, natch - I take it you are not going to call Howie on the "White House" thing? Why not - one fine day the WaPo will admit that Armitage was the guy - why not now?

As to the rest of the Plame-Times parallel - is there any doubt that the Times was warned that outing the Swift program might be a bad idea?

Conversely, is there any specific evidence that anyone warned Armitage, Libby, Cheney, or anyone else about Plame's status? If you have it, please pass it to Fitzgerald - the best he came up with was a conversation warning of possible consequences that followed the Novak column.

[Max]

Plame did the same thing at 'Vanity Fair.' No charges.

[emptywheel]

Um, Tom, while you're looking for evidence, got any that Armitage "was the guy"? So far, all your arguments about that seem to have fizzled. Woodward was clear that Armitage (presumably) didn't say PLame was covert, and Novak has said Mr. X didn't break the law. Even Rove's leakers--who would have an incentive to see Armitage do time--seem to have admitted Fitz doesn't believe Armitage did anything wrong.

As to warnings about Plame, I suppose you're working under an immaculate reception theory, in which Libby's warnings to Edelman and Ari don't involve an interim cognizance on his own part that spreading her name would have potential consequences? That's a new one. So Libby's just an automaton, you're arguing?

Oh, one more point. Until the AIPAC trial redefines how courts interpret the Constitution (which I doubt will happen), there is a clear legal distinction between the NYT printing classified information and Libby leaking it. You ready to throw out that distinction, and with it AIPAC into jail?

[John Casper]

Howard Kurtz's online chat at WaPo 1 - 2 EST

Really OfT Michigan has a State version of the Federal False Claims Act
IANAL, but wrt the misogynist physician you posted about yesterday, I had a really wild idea about how you might be able to subpoena the material the court refused to provide you. If he was billing for Medicaid/Medicare patients, that's Federal. Michigan is one of a few states that has as state version of the Federal False Claims Act. That might (and I am stressing the definition of "might" here) give you another way to go after the data you are seeking.

[Susan S]

David Shuster said the whole point of attacking the Times is to keep everyone from talking about the real issue: Bush's spying on American citizens.

[PsiFighter37]

I was shocked to see freakin' Peter King calling for the NYT to be charged with treason. Why don't we hang Woodward and Bernstein while we're at it? Those damn uppity reporters got us started on this whole business of the press being the public's government watchdog.

[emptywheel]

Psi

That's a really good retort. Let's hand our journalistic heros, they did the same thing as Risen and Lichtblau.