Court Holds Reporter in Contempt in Leak Case (WILSON/PLAME)

Washington Post ^ | August 9, 2004 | Carol D. Leonnig

[cyncooper]

Time Magazine's Cooper Threatened with Jail for Not Revealing Source

A reporter is being held in contempt of court and faces possible jail time, and another was earlier threatened by a federal judge with the same fate, after they refused to answer questions from a special prosecutor investigating whether administration officials illegally disclosed the name of a covert CIA officer last year.

Newly-released court orders show U.S. District Court Chief Judge Thomas F. Hogan two weeks ago ordered Matt Cooper of Time magazine and Tim Russert of NBC to appear before a grand jury and tell whether they knew that White House sources provided the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame to the media.

[Southack]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/09/29/novak.cia/

"Nobody in the Bush administration called me to leak this," Novak said on "Crossfire." "There is no great crime here."

Novak said Monday that he was working on the column when a senior administration official told him the CIA asked Wilson to go to Niger in early 2002 at the suggestion of his wife, whom the source described as "a CIA employee working on weapons of mass destruction."

Another senior administration official gave him the same information, Novak said, and the CIA confirmed her involvement in her husband's mission.

In his column, Novak attributed the information about Plame's involvement in Wilson's trip to Africa to two unnamed senior administration officials.

[TomGuy]

Stand tough, Tim!

Free Tim Free Martha Free Tim Free Martha Free Tim Free Marth!

[Finalapproach29er]

Russert on the Saddam Hussien diet,perhaps?

[af_vet_1981]

Releasing the names of their "sources" will ensure in the future that no one will ever speak to them again.

No, it would only ensure no one from that party/ideology would ever speak to them again, which still begs the question, "Who are they protecting ?"

[tobyhill]

This would explain why the media has gone so negative with this Administration, they're hanging a couple of their fellow journalist out to dry instead of giving them the conspiracy theory.

[cyncooper]

Or, maybe a grand jury to prosecute Sandy Burglar? When pigs fly?

There already is a grand jury looking at Berger.

[cyncooper]

Wilson had a book to write and he felt it should be spiced up a bit with a little conspiracy but he probably never thought it would get this far.

I think it goes beyond that. It's complicated, but I think the reason he made his charges was part of a plan to impeach President Bush. This was coordinated with the plot over in England to force Blair to resign--the "Sexed up Dossier" story was rolled out at the exact time Wilson (and his wife or some other CIA official) was planting anonymous stories in the media to get the "Niger" ball rolling.

The media on both sides of the Atlantic took of the cry and we did indeed hear the words "impeachment" for Bush and "should Blair resign" over in Great Britain.

No, I don't think he was just "spicing up".

[cyncooper]

I think they already did have a baby.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

A reporter is being held in contempt of court and faces possible jail time, and another was earlier threatened by a federal judge with the same fate, after they refused to answer questions from a special prosecutor investigating whether administration officials illegally disclosed the name of a covert CIA officer last year.

Actually they are investigation to see if any govt. official leaked the info.. Nice jab at the "administration" though. Makes it sound like the lamestream reporters are protecting the Bush Admin..

[smiley]

ummmmm...is Mandy a man or woman?

[cyncooper]

The DUmmies have been getting themselves all creamy talking about the 'PLAME GRAND JURY INDICTMENTS.'

Oh dear. I can't wait until there are some and it's their side that gets "frog-marched" off.

LOL

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

Try and guess who is the other guy's beard.

[Sender]

The DUmmies have been following the Plame affair closely for weeks. They expect Cheney and/or Bush will be named as the leaks and thus be incriminated.

Won't it be deliciously ironic if it turns out to be a liberal who tried to frame the current administration?

[cyncooper]

Novack was the one who wrote the original story. Novack was the one who 'acquired' the name and published it.

Russert is kind of a secondary player. IIRC, he interviewed Novack when the name was first published.

Remember, my position is the grand jury is not looking into the mundane issue of who told Novak anything.

And I think we now can see why Russert, who did host Wilson on his show twice, I believe, has not mentioned his name since the Senate Committee report revealed documented proof that Wilson--as we all discerned long ago--was lying. Russert probably has been advised by his attorney to not discuss it at this time.

[Steve_Seattle]

I thought it was settled law that the courts can't require reporters to reveal their sources. I thought that was the legacy of the Pentagon Papers case.

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

Liberal that he is, I cannot believe Russert would commit perjury.

[rabidralph]

What's she hiding under those bangs?

[cyncooper]

Check out the other thread I posted first. The judge uses some interesting language according to the article:

Judge Upholds Media Subpoenas in CIA Leak Case (PLAME/WILSON)

excerpt:

"To be clear, this court holds that Cooper and Russert have no privilege, qualified or otherwise, excusing them from testifying before the grand jury in this matter," Hogan ruled in the 11-page opinion.

"There have been no allegations whatsoever that this grand jury is acting in bad faith or with the purpose of harassing these two journalists," the judge wrote.

~snip~

Interesting, no?

[lonevoice]

There already is a grand jury looking at Berger.

Really? Last I heard he was under criminal investigation by the Justice Department. I haven't heard about a grand jury.