| Yesterday, two prominent American journalists appeared before a jury, which will decide whether to send the reporters to jail or not. Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper and New York Times correspondent Judith Miller were guilty of failing to disclose the source of their information to investigators or the court, following the rules of journalistic ethics.
The journalists face four months in prison. On the eve of the hearing, lawyers asked to at least replace the “dangerous and overcrowded” prison with house arrest. “It will be easier for them to talk in prison,” responded prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. He is investigating a deliberate leak of information from the Bush administration.
In early 2003, Bush called for a speedy start of war in Iraq because Baghdad had purchased uranium for nuclear weapons from Niger. A commission headed by former US Ambassador 55-year-old Joe Wilson was sent to Niger. In July 2003, Mr. Wilson said Bush's claims were lies. Two weeks later, information appeared in the American media, citing sources in the White House, that Wilson's trip to Niger was organized by his wife Valerie Plame. And she turns out to be a secret CIA agent.
According to US law, it is prohibited to disclose the names of secret agents. Plame's 42-year-old CIA career was called into question. According to Wilson, the White House leaked the information to take revenge on him for criticizing Bush.
Last October, the court ordered Cooper and Miller to name their sources of information. They refused. They were accused of contempt of court. The journalists filed an appeal. The Supreme Court rejected it. To protect the journalist, the management of Time magazine on July 1 handed over to investigators his work notes, which allegedly indicated the name of the mysterious source.
"We must obey the court's decision; we are not above the law," said Time editor-in-chief Norman Pearlstein. The publisher of the New York Times, Arthur Salzberger, refused to follow this example, because no US publication had ever done this before. He was supported by NBC News President Neil Shapiro, whose journalists also received subpoenas.
“Most of American journalism is devoted to investigations, and sources need to know for sure that no one will sell them,” Nikolai Zlobin, director of Russian and Asian programs at the US Center for Defense Information, told Vremya Novostey. -- Two years ago in Texas, a serial killer who could not be caught contacted a journalist and gave him material for articles. But the journalist did not hand him over to the police.”
The problem with journalists develops into a political scandal. As reported by Newsweek magazine, Cooper spoke with influential adviser to the American President Karl Rove a couple of days before the article. Isn't he the source of this mysterious source? “They can go to jail for disclosing classified information in the United States,” says Nikolai Zlobin. “But Rove is too valuable to the administration.” And if he is guilty, then the decision on his punishment will be made by President Bush.” Andrey ZLOBIN
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