If I understand the facts in the Plame story, we know of three reporters who got information from someone in the administration that Plame was a covert CIA agent. Two of those reporters, Judith Miller and Matt Cooper, are going to jail for not revealing their source or sources. Bob Novak, the only one of the three who actually published the information, doesn't appear to be suffering any similar consequences. Does anyone out there know why that is?

I think those reporters should all be taken to a terrorist loving nation left there to fend for themselves and then be accused themselves of being a CIA agent.....

Might make them think twice about revealing agents when its their butts on the line.

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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Miller and Cooper never did reveal what they knew. Novak is the only one who blabbed, and he is the only one who doesn't appear to be getting in trouble. There's probably a legitimate reason why he hasn't been punished (yet), but I don't know enough about the case to be able to say what that reason is.

That may be because he is a right wing conservative! What were the other two?

OH, right...thats what Hillary is saying still.....the Vast right wing conspirocy? is she off her meds again?

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1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

I agree that this whole thing stinks to high heaven. Novak is a long-time right wing insider with lots of friends in high places. Cooper and Miller, OTOH, come from the NY Times and the New Yawker.

The only explanation I've heard that holds any water is that Novak gave up his sources privately. This is still no good because no action has been taken against the people who spilled the beans or Novak, who has got "virulent slime" rubberstamped in red on his forehead.

Be nervous, be very nervous....

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Wouldn't you suppose that it's because he testified before the grand jury?

Unlike the other two, he may have recognized a constitutional obligation to testify truthfully and completely.

I'm sure it will all unfold in the coming weeks.

"Wouldn't you suppose that it's because he testified before the grand jury?
Unlike the other two, he may have recognized a constitutional obligation to testify truthfully and completely." --Botnst

That is a crazy place to draw the line... Anyone might accidentally find out that someone is a CIA agent... keeping quiet about it is the constitutional obligation... which Miller and Cooper did...

Novak published it in the national media... THAT IS A VIOLATION OF EVERYONE'S Constitutional Obligation.

Personally any reporter that puts someones life at risk should be jailed....and outing an agent like that does that very thing....once their face and name become public they will never be able to do foriegn service again...they are in effect ruining someones carreer.....and if they are actively on the job overseas their lives would be in danger.

And that is a non-partisan comment...becasue I don't care who is making it...

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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

I think the law that is being investigated requires that the person who reveals the identity must have knowingly violated the law by so doing.

Let's play 'just seeposin'...

Just seeposin' some credible Whitehouse offical, say Karl Rove, knew that Plame's husband was a lying ass and that Plame had manipulated the system to get her lying-assed husband appointed to a suppsoedly non-partisan, intelligence gathering position, which he abused, violated, and lied about. So Karl, in a fit of political pique, calls his old friend Novak and leaks the story on "deep background" but does not inform Novak of the obligations under the law concerning Plame's clandestine identity.

So Novak goes to press with the story and atributes unidentified Sr Whitehouse sources. He gets hauled before the grand jury and says to himself,, "F**k Karl, that jackass put me in violation of the law" and comes clean in secret testimony.

you read it here first.

Bot

That's my take, except for the lying part.

Novak, unprincipled sack of goo that he is, rolled over and gave up his source. Now lets see some subpoenas hit the white house.

I hope whomever let out the information in the first place gets found and goes to jail...

But coming clean in a Grand Jury room AFTER having published the information which he had to know was confidential does not exculpate Novak from his original Treason.

Did he? I heard a rumor, I don't remember where, that Novak took the Fifth when he was in front of the grand jury.

there are times when you can not plead the fifth......without being charged with contept...usually you have been given immunity on a charge when that happens. I don't know if this is one of those times.

__________________
Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
---------------------
Section 609 MVAC Certified
---------------------
"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

I don't know the answer. I'm just guessing like evryone else.