The Loons Are In Season

[Shade Everdark]

Here's the story:

Representative calls for treason charges against NYT

It doesn't seem like this is a big deal yet, and I for one hope it stays that way.

[The_Dark]

It's gathering steam... though I doubt much will come of it other than the NYT loosing a few readers.

This is one of those things that they prolly shouldn't have reported on. This whole thing is over a "spying" program that looked at International money transfers through a third party. Case law is pretty straight forward... I don't remember the actual case right now.. but the Supreme Court ruled in 1986 that there is no "expected right of privacy" in a finacial transaction involving a third party. Which, is what this program was looking at...

There was no reason for the NYT to tell anyone about htis program... It isn't breaking any laws or constitutional rights... and it was secret.

All they have managed to do is tip the terrorist off to a way that we had to find them. Which, is technially treason... but I don;t see any direct harm this has done.. yet... so charging them with treason is going a bit far.

Who should get it for treason is whom ever it was that told the NYT about it,

[torn asunder]

loons are in season!? i didn't even know you could get a license for them!? :blink

:whistling

[Msterbeau]

I'd like to see the people responsible for outing Valerie Plame get charged with treason. Scooter Libby is not the only one involved.

Now back to our regularly scheduled topic.... :-)

[sudokryst]

Hm. The words 'First Amendment' come to mind.

Revealing the info may have been irresponsible, but assuming that no one at the Times did anything illegal to obtain the information and that the data was not actually classified (or that the Times can reasonably claim they didn't know it was classified), they should be in the clear. Whoever spilled the beans, on the other hand...

And I agree, there are much tastier fish to fry and consume when it comes to treason proceedings. Many of them in the executive branch of out government.

[Marblez]

I have not verified this, but I just saw something today which said that they story had already broke before they reported it.

[BrassFusion]

Well, yeah, they had to have heard it from SOMEWHERE, and it would have been irresponsible NOT to report it. I'm with Sudo, the press should have to have a *very* compelling reason to not report something like that.

[Blackmail]

I'd like to see the people responsible for outing Valerie Plame get charged with treason.  Scooter Libby is not the only one involved. 

Now back to our regularly scheduled topic....  :-)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So then I assume you have some sort of inside knowlege and we can expect indictments soon?

And anyone who thinks the NYT is responsible has not followed recent history.

[Msterbeau]

So then I assume you have some sort of inside knowlege and we can expect indictments soon?

And anyone who thinks the NYT is responsible has not followed recent history.

Like Cheney's Cheif of Staff would lie to a grand jury for no reason? There is a conspiracy and a cover up. Of that I'm sure. How else would her name have been put in the public domain? Whether evidence ever comes to light proving such is another matter, sadly.

[Blackmail]

Like Cheney's Cheif of Staff would lie to a grand jury for no reason?  There is a conspiracy and a cover up.  Of that  I'm sure.  How else would her name have been put in the public domain?  Whether evidence ever comes to light proving such is another matter, sadly.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You sound like the right wingers who thought Clinton was behind the deaths of Vince Foster and Ron Brown.

Until there are indictments or convictions, I don't consider anyone guilty. Except for OJ.

And by the way, I hate Cheney.

[Blackmail]

Back to the New York Times.....it seems both Republicans and Democrats are upset by what they did.

June 26, 2006

4339

Letter to the Editors of The New York Times

by Treasury Secretary Snow

Mr. Bill Keller, Managing Editor

The New York Times

229 West 43rd Street

New York, NY 10036

Dear Mr. Keller:

The New York Times' decision to disclose the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program, a robust and classified effort to map terrorist networks through the use of financial data, was irresponsible and harmful to the security of Americans and freedom-loving people worldwide. In choosing to expose this program, despite repeated pleas from high-level officials on both sides of the aisle, including myself, the Times undermined a highly successful counter-terrorism program and alerted terrorists to the methods and sources used to track their money trails.

Your charge that our efforts to convince The New York Times not to publish were "half-hearted" is incorrect and offensive. Nothing could be further from the truth. Over the past two months, Treasury has engaged in a vigorous dialogue with the Times - from the reporters writing the story to the D.C. Bureau Chief and all the way up to you. It should also be noted that the co-chairmen of the bipartisan 9-11 Commission, Governor Tom Kean and Congressman Lee Hamilton, met in person or placed calls to the very highest levels of the Times urging the paper not to publish the story. Members of Congress, senior U.S. Government officials and well-respected legal authorities from both sides of the aisle also asked the paper not to publish or supported the legality and validity of the program.

Indeed, I invited you to my office for the explicit purpose of talking you out of publishing this story. And there was nothing "half-hearted" about that effort. I told you about the true value of the program in defeating terrorism and sought to impress upon you the harm that would occur from its disclosure. I stressed that the program is grounded on solid legal footing, had many built-in safeguards, and has been extremely valuable in the war against terror. Additionally, Treasury Under Secretary Stuart Levey met with the reporters and your senior editors to answer countless questions, laying out the legal framework and diligently outlining the multiple safeguards and protections that are in place.

You have defended your decision to compromise this program by asserting that "terror financiers know" our methods for tracking their funds and have already moved to other methods to send money. The fact that your editors believe themselves to be qualified to assess how terrorists are moving money betrays a breathtaking arrogance and a deep misunderstanding of this program and how it works. While terrorists are relying more heavily than before on cumbersome methods to move money, such as cash couriers, we have continued to see them using the formal financial system, which has made this particular program incredibly valuable.

Lastly, justifying this disclosure by citing the "public interest" in knowing information about this program means the paper has given itself free license to expose any covert activity that it happens to learn of - even those that are legally grounded, responsibly administered, independently overseen, and highly effective. Indeed, you have done so here.

What you've seemed to overlook is that it is also a matter of public interest that we use all means available - lawfully and responsibly - to help protect the American people from the deadly threats of terrorists. I am deeply disappointed in the New York Times.

Sincerely,

[signed]

John W. Snow, Secretary

U.S. Department of the Treasury

More reading:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,201259,00.html

"The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, a former newspaperman himself, argued Tuesday that The New York Times served no public interest when it exposed an effective and classified program that tracked terrorist money transfers.

Sen. Pat Roberts also asked Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte to make an official assessment of the damage done by publication of stories by the Times and other newspapers about the SWIFT account tracking program"

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=17094

"Some congressmen on both sides of the aisle are seeking to prohibit press credentials to the New York Times"

More reading:

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/009232.php

http://www.opinioneditorials.com/guestcont...l_20060628.html

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/.../062810061.html

http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/6/282006f.asp

and concerning the first amendment (and remember, most newspapers operate under a code of conduct that was violated here):

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/opinion/14928390.htm