Et tu Gail Collins?

The day the so-called liberal New York Times has that old fuck Bob Dole carrying its water for them is the day they have finally sunk to irreparable ignominy.

Yesterday they editorialized about poor little Judy and the freedom of the press:

An investigative reporter for The Times, Ms. Miller was ordered to testify as part of an investigation into the disclosure of the identity of a covert operative of the Central Intelligence Agency. It is not yet clear where the investigation is going, or why Ms. Miller’s testimony was demanded by Patrick Fitzgerald, the special prosecutor. Intentionally revealing the identity of a covert operative by a government official is a crime, but at this point, the only one serving time in jail is a civilian, Ms Miller.

It is true that some journalists have abused and overused unnamed sources over the years. But in the main, the secret source is not a convenience for the news media or a shortcut for an easy story. He or she is the backbone of a free and independent press. Think about the civil servant who sees a superior lying and breaking the law. Think about the employee who sees a manager whitewashing a report on a hazardous product.

Think about a powerful government official leaking sensitive classified information to the press solely to discredit a critic of the government’s policy.

Think about a journalist using the reporter’s shield law to protect her from having to testify about her own role in discrediting a critic of the government’s policy.

Think about a reporter never being required to write a story about her involvement in a huge case reaching the very highest levels of government.

Think about a reporter lying to her employers to save her own skin.

But it wasn’t enough to beat their chests one more time about freedom of the press (to be manipulated by powerful forces), they then hired Dole to follow up with a stirring defense of poor Judy on the op-ed page today. I’ve been following Dole my whole life. He has a good sense of humor but he’s always been a mean partisan asshole. In his old age, especially, he has become a very nasty and willing to say anything. Last summer he used his credibility as a severely wounded WWII vet to go after John Kerry’s medals. Now he’s weighing in on the Plame investigation as one of the sponsors of the Intelligence Protection Act to claim that Plame wasn’t covert.

He boo-hoos about whistleblowers and freedom of the press for half the article. (As if he really cares; this is Bob Dole we’re talking about. You can practically see the eye-rolling and the yada-yada-yada.) Once he gets that out of the way, he launches into the impending GOP Fitzgerald meme — the “out-of-control” prosecutor.

With the facts known publicly today regarding the Plame case, it is difficult to see how a violation of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act could have occurred. For example, one of the requirements is that the federal government must be taking “affirmative measures” to conceal the agent’s intelligence relationship with the United States. Yet we now know that Ms. Wilson held a desk job at C.I.A. headquarters and could be seen traveling to and from work. The journalist Robert D. Novak, whose July 14, 2003, column mentioned Ms. Wilson, using her maiden name, and set off the investigation, has written that C.I.A. officials confirmed to him over the telephone that she was an employee before he wrote his column.

I, of course, do not know what evidence Mr. Fitzgerald has presented to the grand jury, nor will I hazard a guess as to the final outcome of his investigation. But the imprisonment of Judith Miller will be even more troubling if it turns out that no violation of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act has occurred.

No he doesn’t know what the evidence is, but he and the NY Times are working in tandem to make it look like Pat Fitzgerald is out of control. The liberal media strikes again.

If they think that Bob Dole would ever come to their defense if the shoe were on the other foot, they are out of their minds. Dole would be the first one on the “law ‘n order” bandwagon. In fact, you can just feel the dripping sarcasm in his voice as he chokes up over poor little Judy’s plight, while softening up Fitzgerald for shiv.

The NY Times is foolishly putting all its eggs in Judy Miller’s basket and it’s costing them. It’s one thing for them to support her legally and financially. But considering the huge controversy about her role in the case, for them to be helping the Republicans discredit the investigation is beyond the pale. They need to recognise that when their editorial stance echoes partisan Republican attempts to discredit the investigation itself, they are in serious danger of putting their loyalty to Miller in service of politics in the worst way. Ironically, that’s exactly what Judy has done for the last decade.

Actually, now that I think about it, that’s exactly what Howell Raines did throughout the 90’s too. Indeed, this is just par for the course in our liberal media. You really can’t go wrong if you sidle up to the Republican character assassins. Good copy, big ratings, easy access. It’s good business.

Update: According to Arianna’s spies, Miller is receiving visits from John Bolton in jail which just strikes me as a foolish thing for both of them to do. Are they that close or are they both just that arrogant?

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