"The U.S. Justice Department couldn't possibly prosecute the New York Times for "leaking" information in 2005 about a "top secret NSA electronic surveillance program" that was actually described quite extensively in the U.S. Justice Department's court documents related to the Iyman Faris case in 2003."
Well we only have your word for that. We don't know what your legal credentials are and you refuse to provide links to sources.
What I do know is that lots of people in Congress claimed that they knew nothing about the program and publication in the NY Times led to investigations and legal suits. So your claim that everyone knew about it and there was no "news" seems odd.
No, you don't just have my word for that. If you click on the link I provided you can read all about it.
The fact that I have no legal credentials is apparently a point in my favor -- since it seems most lawyers these days are thoroughly incapable of thinking rationally.