"Russert Held in Contempt in CIA Leak Case" (AP)
CoolHandDuke -- a modern aristides
NBC's Tim Russert Held in Contempt of Court for Refusing to Testify in Probe
of CIA Leak
The Associated Press
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20040809_1236.html
WASHINGTON Aug. 9, 2004 — A federal judge held a reporter for Time magazine
in contempt of court Monday for refusing to testify before a grand jury
investigating the leak of the identity of a covert CIA officer.
In an order issued July 20 but not made public until Monday, U.S. District
Judge Thomas F. Hogan ruled that Time's Matthew Cooper and "Meet the Press"
host Tim Russert were required to testify "regarding alleged conversations they
had with a specified executive branch official."
NBC News issued a statement saying that Russert already had been interviewed
under oath by prosecutors on Saturday under an agreement to avoid a protracted
court fight. The interview concerned a July 2003 phone conversation he had with
Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby.
Time and Cooper, however, did not agree to be interviewed and intend to appeal
the judge's ruling, said Managing Editor Jim Kelly. If Time loses those
appeals, Cooper could be jailed under Hogan's order until he agrees to appear
and the magazine could be fined $1,000 a day.
"We are disappointed in the decision," Kelly said. "We don't think a journalist
should be required to give up a confidential source. We're going to appeal it
as far as it goes."
Neal Shapiro, president of NBC News, said the network agreed that forcing
reporters to testify about their sources is "contrary to the First Amendment's
guarantee of a free press." Shapiro said Russert answered "only limited
questions" about the conversation with Libby "without revealing any information
he learned in confidence."
The subpoenas of Russert and Cooper were issued by U.S. Attorney Patrick
Fitzgerald of Chicago, who was appointed as a special prosecutor in the leak
case. Hogan denied the claims by the two journalists that they were protected
by the Constitution from having to testify.
"There have been no allegations whatsoever that this grand jury is acting in
bad faith or with the purpose of harassing these two journalists," Hogan wrote
in an 11-page ruling.
The investigation concerns the leak last summer to syndicated columnist Robert
Novak of the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame. Disclosure of an undercover
official's identity can be a felony.
Plame's name appeared in Novak's column on July 14 last year, about a week
after her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, published a newspaper
opinion piece criticizing President Bush's claim in the 2003 State of the Union
address that Iraq had tried to obtain uranium from Niger.
Wilson had been sent by the CIA to Niger to check the allegation, and he
concluded it was unfounded. Novak wrote that Plame had suggested her husband
for the mission, a claim Plame and Wilson have denied.
NBC said in its statement that Russert told Fitzgerald in the interview that he
did not know Plame's name or her identity as a CIA officer, and that he did not
provide that information to Libby. The statement said that Libby had told the
FBI about his conversation with Russert and requested that it be disclosed.
A number of Bush administration officials have appeared before the grand jury
or have been interviewed by prosecutors and the FBI.
Bush himself was interviewed in the White House on June 25, and earlier this
month Secretary of State Colin Powell was interviewed.
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
To be a conservative is to be intellectually
constipated and morally myopic.
* http://www.johnkerry.com *
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
cLIeNUX user
The First Amendment guarantees free speech, not freedom to keep secrets.
I'm Rick Hohensee, and I created this message... @$%*%*%$$@*@$*@*@###*
##############*
##*##########
__Y_Y_______Y_____ ###*#####*##
| | **#*#*#***
| | ######*#**#
| | ######***#
| | @*@***@**@
| s | #*##*#*#*#
| $ $ |$ #@&*@###
| 000XXXXXXXX$%XH%*#*#
| x XHHXXXXXXXXXX {
| XXXX |
1 | |
| | #####
| | #########
| | #############
| Y | ##################
| #######################
| ########################
| #########################
H_ | #############################
\ | ################################
| l | #################################
| | ###################################
---\ | ####################################
_______ _____ | #####################################
___________ | ####################################
___ ##################################
##############################
__________ ############################
| ###################### |_____________
| ####################### | |
| ######################## | |
_______|___ ######*#*#**############ |
******#*******######### |
################# | |
"The Vision Thing", original ASCII-art by
Rick (Richard Allen) Hohensee
independant candidate for President
Adam Russell
From the article I couldnt figure why Cooper and Russert are supoenaed
but Novak isnt. Can anyone shed some light here?
abracadabra
"CoolHandDuke -- a modern aristides" <cbw...@aol.comShrubSUX> wrote in
message news:20040809181050...@mb-m02.aol.com...
> Russert Held in Contempt in CIA Leak Case
> NBC's Tim Russert Held in Contempt of Court for Refusing to Testify in
Probe
> of CIA Leak
> The Associated Press
> http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20040809_1236.html
>
magazine
> in contempt of court Monday for refusing to testify before a grand jury
> investigating the leak of the identity of a covert CIA officer.
>
> In an order issued July 20 but not made public until Monday, U.S. District
> Judge Thomas F. Hogan ruled that Time's Matthew Cooper and "Meet the
Press"
> host Tim Russert were required to testify "regarding alleged conversations
they
> had with a specified executive branch official."
Toss Russert in Jail - Meet the Press will get so much better nobody will
miss him.
abracadabra
"Adam Russell" <adamr...@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:e96a21b9.04080...@posting.google.com...
> cbw...@aol.comShrubSUX (CoolHandDuke -- a modern aristides) wrote in
message news:<20040809181050...@mb-m02.aol.com>...
> > Russert Held in Contempt in CIA Leak Case
> > NBC's Tim Russert Held in Contempt of Court for Refusing to Testify
in Probe
> > of CIA Leak
> > The Associated Press
> > http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20040809_1236.html
> >
magazine
> > in contempt of court Monday for refusing to testify before a grand jury
> > investigating the leak of the identity of a covert CIA officer.
> From the article I couldnt figure why Cooper and Russert are supoenaed
> but Novak isnt. Can anyone shed some light here?
Moving up the chain - like in the mafia?
ren
> but Novak isnt. Can anyone shed some light here?
Good question! And why won't the White House prosecute!?! They said they
would and they lied.
Adam Russell
I dont see that. We already have the goods on Novak because his
column is sufficient evidence. To move up the chain we would want
Novak to testify who gave him that info.
abracadabra
Hey - I'd love to see Novak rot in jail for a year or two
Adam Russell
I dont like Novak, but I'd much rather have the one that passed him
secret information. That guy is 10x more guilty.
Fact Checker
Robert Novak: Douchebag for Liberty
--
Warm Regards,
Raven Cecil
"But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing
invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them
under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their
duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new
Guards for their future security." - Thomas Jefferson
"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to
keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect them-
selves against tyranny in government." - Thomas Jefferson
Vote Smart!
http://www.vote-smart.org/
abracadabra
I doubt Novak would keep his mouth shut once the officers approached him
with the cuffs. He'd sing like a mockingbird on a sunny morning.