Am I the only one who thinks Novak should NOT be the focus of contempt?

I realize what he did seriously compromises national security and that he has broken the law. I also realize that Vanessa Leggitt sat in jail for NOT releasing her sources as well and that that has a chilling effect on freedom of the press.

I also realize that the White House or their operatives (based on the Washington Post story) were GOING to discredit Wilson and out Plames REGARDLESS of whether Novak did it.

The intent of the leak was to intimidate other CIA agents from coming forward with information that this administration cooked intelligence to gain support for the war.

The INTENT NOW of focusing on Novak who was the messenger, rather than the REAL CRIMINALS who were those who fed him the information, will only lead to further calls to restrict and limit the press.

When it boils down to it, Novak did us all a favor by being the tool that he is.....I frankly see him in a more sympathetic light.

I further believe that by NOT revealing his sources, he leaves congress NO OPTION but to conduct an independent inquiry since the White House's statements on the matter PROVE they will NOT be helpful in getting to the bottom of it through the Justice Dept.

To focus on Novak with contempt only plays into the right wing liberal media myth that the press should be restricted.

Don't step into that trap.

I agree the WH is the culprit here.

...because the Justice Department is involved. They can't point to public opinion as a reasonable indicator of what they should or shouldn't do, since a legal proceeding is pending. They cannot press-conference this away.

to feel sorry for him I agree that he is not the story. I tremble at the thought of our press being more compromised than it already is. The White House is where the bad guys in this story are and while I dislike Novak he should not be held to giving up his sources.

WH = bad

I thought I was the only one here "defending" Novak.

He had every right to publish what he did. All journalists have that right, even (and especially) left-wing ones. Imagine if we could lock up all the journalists who publish anything that embarasses the government simply because the government can call something "classified".

What if a journalist from the NYT got ahold of the redacted portions of the 9/11 report and published them? What if those portions were very embarassing for the White House? We'd hail that reporter as a hero, and strenuously object to any attempt to imprison him/her.

We have to defend the principle over the participants. For every Novak jailed, there would be 100 Krugmans.

I'm pretty pissed at Novak but , I see your point :hi:

and his penchant for characterizing all dissent as mere Bush Bashing.

I am shocked but not surprised by his actions here.

I definitely believe that the main focus should be on the people in the Bush administration who initially leaked the information. And you're right, that *is* in danger of being "lost in the shuffle" with all the focus on Novak.

I also *don't* think he is obligated to reveal his sources in the White House. However, I wonder if he isn't just sleazy enough to do it. And I'm not willing to let him off the hook for printing Plame's name - it was poor judgement on his part.

Also, I can't remove the pic from my sig just yet. It's just too fecking cute. ;)

...Novak is a paid shill, that's no surprise to anyone.

But the LIES and the LIES...

Taxpayer funded public servant using government agencies and the press for petty revenge, at the expense of national security and the peril of OUR SAFETY...

Chalabi and the defectors are liars with their own agenda. Who knew? Wow, what a shocker that defrauder Chalabi might lie to advance his own agenda. Seems Saddam-handshaking Rummy might need to re-evaluate his skills in character judgement.

A journalist with integrity would not have revealed her name (and apparently there were at least a few other journalists who were contacted by the sources, and who DO meet this standard). A journalist with a LOT of integrity would have raised questions about why it was being offered to him, and either followed it up as a story or as a matter of wrongdoing he wanted corrected. He deserves scorn for failing on all these points, particularly given the much greater power he has than the typical reporter. And it is hard to understand how someone who lacks the integrity to do these things can now claim on integrity grounds he must not reveal the wrongdoers' identity, though this is a more complex question than the others.

But the story is bigger than just his role, as you say.

...completely.

"A journalist WITH INTEGRITY"

We know that Novak has served as Rove's lil mouthpiece before. He has no integrity...

How am I agreeing with the position that Novak should be let off the hook?

I should have placed my reply directly under the original, not under yours. Sorry!

A journalist with a LOT of integrity would have raised questions about why it was being offered to him, and either followed it up as a story or as a matter of wrongdoing he wanted corrected.

Was the conversation "off-the-record" from the get go? The story was obviously being peddled, but was there a qualifier before the conversation even started? By starting "off-the-record," you can cover a lot of bases. Iow, a First Amendment Protected Smear. If the reporter doesn't like it, they still have to eat the source.

Jeez Will...economize on words with someone else. :D

with someone else...now I have a trilemma! :D

:shrug:

Yes indeed, Novakula stuck his foot in his mouth and exposed more of the bush criminal family. What I like; Novakula has 46 years of Washington experience and the information coming from him is more credibable. If the information came from Geraldo, the nazi repig pundits would not be acting today as if they had their shorts tied in a knot.

Either way, little man bushie will never setup an investigation. Good. Little man bushie continues to crap on himself.

because if he should never have broken the story as it was immaterial to the original story of the yellowcake lie. He endangered not only the woman named but all her contacts as well as United States security as a whole. He was asked not to reveal her name as a matter of security and he went ahead and did it anyway.

It was very critical of the WH and laid out the case that the yellowcake story was not true and that the WH went to war based on information that they knew wasn't credible.

Seems that Novak has done more damage to the WH than he did to the CIA. Thanks Bob, way to go.


http://www.townhall.com/columnists/robertnovak/printrn20030714.shtml

While I readily tire of Bob No-facts, he is a journalist (using the term a bit loosely) and protection of his sources is a legitimate first ammendment issue.

The point is that he should not have possessed the information to divulge in the first place.

All indications are that the focus should remain on the Whitehouse.

The real stool here isn't the messenger but the one who fed the info to him.

Since everybody in D.C. knows there were 4 or 5 other reporters who this story was "shopped" to, could they reveal who called them since they didn't even write a story? They know their names and that they were called, but no one has said who these other reporters are. Something smells really bad here because D.C. is like a small little town so everybody there knows what's going on. Any ideas if these people could talk?

reported is true. As much as I normally disagree with his politics, I believe his journalistic integrity is intact.

God willing, Novak is the first of many who will be held accountable for their role in the crime.

You are right. Whomever leaked this information to Novak is the traitor and should be thoroughly investigated and punished with the full extent of the law. I don't want journalists gagged. God knows enough of them have gladly put the muzzle on themselves in the name of 'patriotism'. A journalist has every right to publish what his/her source has given him/her. I now have to take back what I said in an earlier post--Novak should have done just as he did. Someone in the W.H. was willing to risk providing information they had to have known would compromise our national security, in order to teach Wilson and others a lesson. He published it, and had every right to do so in a country that has a free press (or the illusion of one). The blame lays 100% on the White House for this act of high treason. Novak was just the messenger.

Simply because he is a journalist is no reason to let him walk over treasonous acts.

before being executed by the state.

Novak broke no law.

He's guilty of treason and that carries a death penalty in a time of war.

Six other journalists were also privy to that information. They chose not to walk the path of a traitor. Novak walked the same path that Benedict Arnold walked.

only people who have access to classified information (which Novak didn't) or people who engage in a pattern of trying to identify operatives (again, doesn't apply to Novak) are covered by the relevant law.

Here's the text:

Sec. 421. - Protection of identities of certain United States undercover intelligence officers, agents, informants, and sources


(a) Disclosure of information by persons having or having had access to classified information that identifies covert agent



Whoever, having or having had authorized access to classified information that identifies a covert agent, intentionally discloses any information identifying such covert agent to any individual not authorized to receive classified information, knowing that the information disclosed so identifies such covert agent and that the United States is taking affirmative measures to conceal such covert agent's intelligence relationship to the United States, shall be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.

(b) Disclosure of information by persons who learn identity of covert agents as result of having access to classified information



Whoever, as a result of having authorized access to classified information, learns the identify of a covert agent and intentionally discloses any information identifying such covert agent to any individual not authorized to receive classified information, knowing that the information disclosed so identifies such covert agent and that the United States is taking affirmative measures to conceal such covert agent's intelligence relationship to the United States, shall be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

(c) Disclosure of information by persons in course of pattern of activities intended to identify and expose covert agents



Whoever, in the course of a pattern of activities intended to identify and expose covert agents and with reason to believe that such activities would impair or impede the foreign intelligence activities of the United States, discloses any information that identifies an individual as a covert agent to any individual not authorized to receive classified information, knowing that the information disclosed so identifies such individual and that the United States is taking affirmative measures to conceal such individual's classified intelligence relationship to the United States, shall be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

(d) Imposition of consecutive sentences



A term of imprisonment imposed under this section shall be consecutive to any other sentence of imprisonment

What do you want to happen on the day a genuine whistle-blower steps forward and takes a chance?

By all means, cart Novak off to jail, but offer no bargains.

and unfortunately, (or fortunately) being an asshole is not against the law. He is under no obligation to reveal his sources and technically broke no law publishing his story.

Other reporters felt a moral obligation not to go with the story, but that is not the question, and that is not a legal matter.

I agree - the focus should be on the RATS that leaked the information to Novak (and several other reporters) in the first place - not the messenger who ran with the bait.

... leave him at the tender mercies of a few CIA "interrogation instructors".

:thumbsup:

Novak is a partisan political hack, not a journalist. He should be fired, thrown in jail, and made to reveal his sources.

Novak outing Plame causes a terrorist to obtain a nuke because Plames assets were "liquidated". Remember, she tracked weapons of mass destruction.

Would we still say Novak did us a favor if one of our cities became a radioactive desert?

I am wondering if the 'intent' of the WH was to JUST to intimidate the CIA.

I am sorry NSMA, I really like what you post and all. And I am sure if I had more time here than I do, I maybe would even know you personally.

But what Novak did is for me, unforgivable. I doubt Novak realized the magnitude of what he was doing at the time.

I even doubt those in the WH realised the magnitude of what they did at the time, but they should have.

I don't think Novak or those in the WH should escape justice.

Novak is a traitor just like those in the WH.

Like it or not, there are terrorists out there that want to kill us. And they will, if our intellegence gathering is disrupted.

REALLY fucked up big time.

They shouldn't have broken the law and revealed the information.

But Novak broke no law, regardless of the outcome. The fault lies directly with the person or persons in the administration who leaked this info.

The whole idea of jailing journalists for reporting the truth really strikes me as chilling. Robert Novak is not responsible for keeping the government's secrets - the government is.

and he's absolved of any responsibility, I suppose

yes.

had said nothing, we may have never known about it. I'm not big fan of
Bob N, but I don't think he has broken any laws.

its more important that you know?

Novak committed no crime by reporting the story that was spoon fed to him.

You said:
I even doubt those in the WH realised the magnitude of what they did at the time, but they should have.

FALSE! They knew EXACTLY what they were doing! At the very LEAST they knew they were breaking the law and committing treason.

Novak is a reporter and is not responsible for national security - but this administration IS.

while I detest Novak, I am compelled to defend his rights as a journalist.

Like most others, I think the leaker, as opposed to the messenger, should be dealt with. As this appears to have been delibrate attempt to ensure the silence of others, so much for the 'moral clatity' of this admin, (as if it ever existed in the first place).

An investigation will uncover a culprit, (perhaps a 'patsy', but someone will fall on their sword), and the admin will try to spin out of this situation.

Novak, unwittingly, has done us a favor.

:evilgrin:

There is more than enough for every TRAITOR who ever said a good word about this badminstration.

at this moment on ieAmerica radio.

The f*king asshole is an accessory to a crime, dammit.
The info was totally irrelevant to the main point of Novak's story and did not need to be printed. The only reason he did it was to suck up to Rove, Cheney, and the rest of the pustulating scumballs currently slithering around in the White House. He is a cowardly PIG who now hides behind his "journalistic immunity," lies about what he definitely put into print in the past and should be taken away in irons. Notice his current denial of being "like this" with Rove. What a shithead!

I want the one's that told him, and everyone that knew that Novak was going to be told.

For example:

"Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, said Novak was in "dangerous territory. . . . Journalists should apply a civil disobedience test: Does the public good outweigh the wrong that you're doing? In a case where you are risking someone's life, potentially, or putting someone in danger, you have to decide what is the public good you are accomplishing. Because you have the freedom to publish doesn't mean it's necessarily the right thing to do."

...John Roberts, a CBS White House correspondent, said that to his knowledge, no administration official had contacted anyone at the network about Wilson.

If anyone had called him, Roberts said, "I'd immediately have to wonder what the ulterior motive was. We'd probably end up doing a story about somebody breaching national security by leaking the name of a CIA operative."..."

From
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14399-2003Sep28.html

his loyalties. But who the hell cares. He's just a small cog in the huge fascist * machine.

Had the leak been publicized by a lesser name, it would not have gotten the attention it did.

NOVAK is part of the biggest threat to democracy this country faces - a fascist press. Do you honestly think Bush Inc would get away with most of their shenanigans - do you think they could have STOLEN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION - if they didn't have media whores like Novak paving the way? He's fucking DISGUSTING and deserves every bit of contempt thrown his way. Is he the entire problem? No, but he's a BIG PART OF IT. He knew what he was doing would have the result of stifling dissent. At least that's what he THOUGHT. FUCK HIM.