DOJ to Prosecute New York Times over NSA Story?
By Jon Perr Wednesday Jan 07, 2009 6:00pm
In a Newsweek exclusive three week ago, former Justice Department official Thomas Tamm revealed his role in helping the New York Times make public President Bush's program of illegal domestic surveillance. Now Salon's Glenn Greenwald has details on the DOJ's efforts to punish the whistleblower. And as it turns out (and as I suggested back in 2007), the Bush administration's ultimate target may be the New York Times itself.
As Greenwald spells out today, the Justice Department investigation is not pursuing the White House cabal behind the violation of FISA's prohibitions on warrantless eavesdropping of American citizens, but instead those who revealed it. Tamm, whose life has been turned upside-down since the FBI raided his home in August 2007, will likely be subpoenaed to testify what he knows about James Risen and Eric Lichtblau, the Times reporters who broke the story in December 2005.
That's the message in a letter sent to Tamm's attorney Paul Kemp by Steve Tyrrell of the DOJ's fraud section. As Greenwald described it:
The letter begins by announcing that the DOJ and FBI are "presently investigating the unauthorized disclosure of classified information regarding the Presidentially-authorized NSA program…(hereinafter, 'The Terrorist Surveillance Program')." It then references the Newsweek article and "ask[s] whether [Tamm] is willing to reconsider his prior refusal to speak with agents of the FBI and/or to testify before the Grand Jury regarding his knowledge of and/or participation in the disclosure of TSP-related information to [James] Risen, Mr. Lichtblau and others." It demands an answer from Tamm by January 9 -- 11 days before Obama is to be inaugurated -- and then threateningly warns: "if I do not hear from you by that date, I will assume that Mr. Tamm is not interested in submitting to a voluntary interview or testifying before the Grand Jury": an obvious threat that he may be subpoenaed and compelled to do so.
The implication - that Lichtblau and Risen are in the Justice Department's crosshairs - would represent a conservative dream come true. Many in the Bush administration and its amen corner have been clamoring for the prosecution of the New York Times ever since the President's lawbreaking came to light. (For more background, Perrspectives has the details.)
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Bush is so 13 days from now.
the political culture therein, is completely and irredeemably corrupt.
An direct hit by an asteroid would be a vast improvement.
easy enough for Obama to pardon him. especially if we put enough pressure on him.
They should subpoena buzzy krongard and his crazy brother while they're at it.
I really hope this whistleblower gets his due because he seems like a legitimately awesome guy. I read the article in newsweek. Yeah paper and staples and everything. I just hope his case doesn't end up ruining his life or turning on deaf ears like other whistleblowers we know.
The same NYT that sold the bogus rush to war on Iraq?
What a pity.
That the NYT, the biggest pipe in the CIA's "Mighty Wurlitzer," can't even pretend to be a legitimate investigative organization without getting flak from the wingnuts. Fortunately, Pinch Sulzberger's too thick to know when to walk away.
Wouldn't they have to prosecute individuals at the NYT?
The Feds were talking about not prosecuting companies for wrong doing during the financial crisis. their reasoning is that a conviction would cause the companies to fail and result in a loss of jobs, like what happened to Aurther Anderson during the Enron debacle.
Then we have the telecom companies, who are immune from being sued or tried on anything they might have done wrong.
So, how do they prosecute the NYT as a company?
... can be relatively quickly reversed after Jan 20. Cant this too? Seems pretty inept if W thinks this kind of prosecution can survive Obama's DOJ, so it looks like all politics to me. They just want to be able to say, "Obama doesnt want to spy on terrorists."
said Obama is going to reverse anything the Bush Regime (TM) has implemented? The object of running for Prez, would be power, not? What more power can any individual get, since Bush? I cannot see anybody spending that much time, money and energy for a grab at power, to let any of it get away.
Some people honestly want to serve. With Bushes is service to corporate oil interests etc and a power grab for them. But some others honestly want to serve the people and the country and use power granted them to do that.
By the way..
Great News for Fans of Government Transparency, Oversight, Whistleblower Protection and Freedom of Information
U.S. House Passes Three Important Bills, With Veto-Proof Majorities, That May Begin Unwinding Bush-Era Madness...
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6797
Because how many terrorists has the Bush administration caught with this warrantless wiretapping, anyway?
13 more days. Just 13 more days of this madness and stupidity ...
will continue, under the new criminals ,there i finished it for you!
Well, they caught Spitzer. Does he count as a terrorist?
this might be WHY!http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/25-bushs-real-problem-with-eliot-spitzer/
It will be over shortly. They should just hold on. Then maybe the investigations into Bushies will begin. Now, that I pay to watch. The mistake the idiot Bush and Cheney made when they increased their power grab it is now in the hands of the democrats. Watch the games begin....
i've seen this commercial, during countdown/rachel:
"welcome to the Knowledge Generation Bureau... K G B ... kgb.com "
really... i haven't gone to the site yet...
but, if it's anything like the CIA recruiting commercial i've seen, well, that's just spooky...
silly me, again...
"kgb, a privately held, New York-based company, is the world's largest independent provider of directory assistance and enhanced information services. ..."
welllll... i DID see recruitment commercials for the CIA on tv...
...on TV, but I've heard them a few times on a the local Talk Radio station here in Philly for the past couple of days. I wonder if they'd be hiring any old, sort of retired folks for as they say in the ads, "the US clandestine service." ?
do we let the criminals walk and prosecute the people who exposed the crimes.
If this is the United States of America and the New York Times is the fourth estate, then why is the Justice Department going after the newspaper for reporting a crime committed by the executive. Wiretapping American citizens was breaking the law. The Justice Department should be investigating the crime and criminals who were breaking the law that restricted illegal wiretapping. W and his crime family are the thugs, not the New York Times or it's employees.
Hasn't Rove and Meirs et. al. repeatedly suggested by their actions that subpoenas are mere suggestions, like dinner invitations? Why doesn't the NYT just respectfully decline, tell the DOJ it has to wash its hair that night?
Subpoena ... hmm, a scary sounding Latin word that means 'Ignore it' to republicans.
Their hypocrisy is simply breathtaking.
Ignore them without peril.
Those who cooperated in breaking the law, like the telecom companies, granted immunity.
It is consistent. Laws in this country upside down.
Will Barak Obedient do something when he gets in there? Stay tuned.
The problem for the DOJ is this. The DOJ has to prove to a jury, in order to convict this guy, that warrantless wire tapping was part of official government business.
Problem #1 When he leaked the program; the program was illegal under the law; this fact automatically makes it not "official" government business.
This is purely a matter of some DOJ official trying to settle a personal grudge. Possibly on behalf of Karl Rove, Bush, Cheney, or any of the other usual suspects.
or perhaps an attempt at legitimizing this unconstitutional law?? I mean after Jan 20 its all about what Obama DOJ will do with it, no? Will they prosecute? and if they do, will they get a conviction? I have to doubt that this would make it to the supreme court.
is that you can only be in trouble for revealing it if you're under a sworn obligation not to reveal it.
But, it is clearly not kosher to hide evidence of illegal activity by classifying it. That in itself is a crime.
NOTHING!
ah the spirit of bipartisanship...democrats and republicans coming together to do whatever the fuck the republicans say....
stay strong dems
stay classy GOP
you nailed it!david !bravo
This is a most disturbing development. May the DOJ find their way again soon...
Get well DOJ.
Yeah aint it a kick in tha nads that you report illegal activities that our govt has perpetrated and you get busted for it sounds bushzorro to me lets hope obama rectifyes this so more ppl will speak out without fear of persecution theres still a lot to learn about what has been going on
Oh about telecom immunity I could be wrong but doesnt the immunity bill only protect them from civil liability and not criminal
Let's imagine for a moment that the situation were reversed.
Can you imagine how loudly the Republicans would (with merit) be howling about persecution of an honest man trying to stand up to Government?
Why are the Democrats so inept? Politically, the Republicans have handed them a perfect (and valid) chance to go on every Sunday morning talk show and scream about how Bush rewards people who do wrong (Libby) and punishes people who do the right thing (Tamm).
Morally, they have an obligation to stand up for the rule of law and the principle that one should not be prosecuted for exposing lawbreaking and wrongdoing.
Gee, aren't partisan political prosecutions still illegal in the United States?
Thomas Tamm Legal Defense Fund
Bank of Georgetown
5236 44th Street
Washington, DC 20015
Freely.Contribute.Often.
"Because how many terrorists has the Bush administration caught with this warrantless wiretapping, anyway?"
It looks like they're hoping to get 1 evil-doer. It just doesn't pay to be a whistleblower. These poor bastards with their morals, character, courage, ethics, and sense of responsibility just keep getting raped by the criminals in charge.
If Obama really wants to "Hope" and "Change", he'll call off this baseless attack and start investigating the criminals in charge of the wiretapping.
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