[From the diaries by susanhu. Can October come soon enough?]
"Saint Judith Miller" – The Latest NY Times Editorial Rant
It seems hardly a week goes by without a New York Times editorial lamenting the ongoing imprisonment of their “star” reporter, Judith Miller, jailed for refusing to cooperate with the Federal Grand Jury probing the outing by members of the Bush administration of undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame, wife of the Niger yellow-cake hoax whistleblower JosephWilson.
Today’s latest rant, Bad Company, likens Saint Judy to the journalists imprisoned for purely political reasons by the Communist government of China. Such comparisons are an insult to the readers of The New York Times, and are part of an ongoing effort by Times Editorial writers to obfuscate the facts surrounding the jailing of Ms. Miller.
…In recent days, the United States judicial system and the Communist government of China both reached shameful milestones. In the United States, the New York Times reporter Judith Miller has been jailed for more than 75 days. Another employee of The Times, Zhao Yan, marked a full year in prison in China.
BELOW, more excerpts from the NYT editorial, and my commentary:
More EXCERPTS FROM THE TIMES EDITORIAL:
No one, except the Chinese authorities, knows precisely why Mr. Zhao was grabbed in a restaurant on Sept. 17, 2004, but it apparently was retaliation for The Times reporting in advance that the Chinese leader Jiang Zemin would retire. Mr. Zhao had nothing to do with that article, but the government has since charged him with leaking state secrets, a capital crime.
… In the United States, Ms. Miller’s imprisonment stands out for its rarity, and harshness. No other newspaper reporter has ever been jailed this long for standing on her constitutional rights…
… the very fact that this newspaper has to fight the same battle on behalf of an American employee that it is fighting for a citizen of a totalitarian society is symbolic of how outrageous Ms. Miller’s imprisonment was, and how it grows more outrageous with each passing day.
These Times editorial rants are getting very tiring.
First of all the Times continues to misrepresent the issues that sent Judy Miller to jail. Every other reporter called to testify by this grand jury entered into negotiations and was permitted to limit the scope of their testimony, including being allowed to shield sources.
Miller claimed a non-existent right of absolute immunity, refusing to cooperate with the grand jury in any way.
The Times simply lies when it asserts that “Ms. Miller was jailed for standing on a principle protected by the laws of 49 states and the District of Columbia – honoring the promise of confidentiality made to a source,” and it does a disservice to the legitimate battle for shield laws by misrepresenting Miller’s indefensible total defiance of the grand jury.
In effect, she is asserting that the grand jury has no right to probe into a possible criminal conspiracy involving her, simply because she claims the mantle of a journalist.
There is not a court in the land that would support her assertion, and there aren’t even that many journalists who would.
And most of all, let us not forget that Ms. Miller is shielding political operatives within the Bush administration who sought, for political ends, to punish a whistleblower, and outted an undercover CIA agent in the process.
Every judge who has reviewed this case, including some who favor shield laws, has ruled that the magnitude of this crime compels the testimony of Ms. Miller on the grounds of national security.
The Times continues to ignore the true basis for her imprisonment, and in the process they themselves are acting as an accessory to this crime and a party to the continuing Bush administration cover-up.