Wrong people going to jail in leak

By JOHN THOMPSON

Principles are something that are fast disappearing in 21st Century America. Many folks are looking for a “quick fix” for their problems, and if it involves sacrificing something that they used to deem worthy, so be it.

Last week, the country watched as a journalist from the New York Times, Judith Miller, was jailed for not revealing a confidential source for a story that she was investigating.

The story starts when former diplomat Joseph Wilson wrote a column for the Times questioning one of President Bush’s rationales for heading to war in Iraq.

The opinion piece dismayed many conservatives, and shortly after the article appeared, conservative pundit Robert Novak “outed” Wilson’s wife, Valerie Plame, as a CIA operative.

Revealing an agent’s name is violation of a federal law and a federal prosecutor was appointed to investigate the case. Miller and Matt Cooper of Time have been repeatedly questioned about their sources.

Time last week decided to reveal e-mails from Cooper to the special prosecutor, and Cooper said his source had given him permission to give out more information.

This week, news sources are revealing that Karl Rove, the mastermind of Bush’s re-election, was Cooper’s source, although Rove is claiming that he never revealed a name.

What boggles my mind is the role of Novak, who has remained strangely quiet during the whole situation. Miller never wrote a story about Plame and is in jail, yet Novak, who named Plame in his column, is walking free.

Because the investigation is protected by grand jury standards, we probably won’t know the full details of the case until the end of this year, or the beginning of 2006.

I admire Miller for her principles. Anonymous sources have proved to be invaluable resources for journalists over the years.

The most famous case, of course, is “Deep Throat,” who helped reveal the crimes of the Nixon administration.

Beyond being a case of journalism ethics, the investigation may reveal a far more insidious side of our current administration.

Hating journalists is one thing the Bush administration has in common with Nixon. The administration has even spent millions of your dollars to pay for news with a better spin than what they perceive as the “liberal media’s” account of events.

While the administration does have a virtual network in Fox News, that’s still not good enough for these guys. If you question any decision or statement they make, you’ll be herded off to a “free speech” zone or branded a liar.

In all my years of covering political campaigns, I’ve never heard of having to be “pre-approved” to attend a campaign rally. But last year during Bush’s march to victory, you couldn’t attend one of his rallies unless you were on a special list.

At the head of many of these tactics is Rove. During Bush’s campaigns in Texas, Rove was accused of spreading rumors that Gov. Ann Richards was a lesbian.

Rove earned his political stripes during the Nixon years. Hmm ... there’s that name again. Are we on the verge of history repeating itself?

When you place a CIA operative in danger, the buck needs to stop right there. The bully tactics of the Bushies need to go back to the playground. If Novak and Rove are found guilty, they need to be spending some time behind bars instead of a reporter who never wrote a word about the situation.