Don’t They Know He’s Shameless?

by digby

So, the two Brits who were found guilty of breaking the Official Secrets Act were convicted for exposing a secret that everyone already knew. (Orwell was British, wasn’t he?)

We cannot report allegations about what the document contains even though they have been reported time and time again – “recycled” was the word the judges preferred – by the media, including British newspapers.

That’s not strictly true. The judge said we can repeat those allegations but only if they appear on a different page of a newspaper than any reference to the trial or the document which was at the centre of it. We can also report, since it was said in open court, that the Guardian’s counsel, Anthony Hudson, argued that it would be inappropriate to restrain publication of the allegation already in the public domain claiming that President Bush suggested that the Arabic TV station al-Jazeera should be bombed.

The document in question was the minutes of the meeting that had been widely reported to feature our fine presidential codpiece casually talking about ordering the bombing of the Al Jazeera news agency. Now why would they want to keep this particular document secret?

The judge imposed his contempt of court – gagging – orders after the prosecution stressed the importance the attorney general (AG), Lord Goldsmith, was personally attaching to the case. Official Secrets Act prosecutions always require the consent of the AG.

He, and the government as a whole, seemed particularly concerned about the need to protect Bush from embarrassment, (the prosecution conceded that no “actual damage” had been caused by the leak) and to show the White House that Whitehall is determined to try and keep secrets even though Washington cannot.

The person who leaked it said he did it because Bush sounds like a madman. I don’t doubt it. If people could see the president’s puerile id in full glory contemplating the bombing of a television station, I’m sure it would validate all of our worst fears about his embarrassing lack of gravitas and maturity. But at this point, there is really no reason on earth that the British should protect him. I can only assume the minutes show that Tony Blair was also doing his usual Tony Randall-as-the-best-friend impression which actually would be embarrassing during the pomp and pageantry of his send-off.

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