Plame Flame On The Shield
CBS News legal consultant Andrew Cohen reacts to news that journalists will be called to testify in the Valerie Plame leak trial.
It is not surprising that the only people who seem to care that journalists may be called to testify at the perjury and obstruction trial of former White House staffer I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby are journalists themselves.
To the rest of the nation, the idea that reporters should be immune from certain civic responsibilities (like being a witness in a criminal trial) simply plays into the burgeoning (and unfortunate) sense that journalists want special treatment when they deserve none.
That's just a fact that reporters have to live with in this age of intense cynicism toward the media. Another sad fact is that journalists who refuse to divulge their sources on principle often get in more trouble (read: jail for civil contempt) than any of the parties in the cases in which their testimony is sought.
In the end, former New York Times reporter Judy Miller may end up spending more time in jail (she was incarcerated for 12 weeks) than Libby might serve even if he is convicted. And just ask the reporters involved in the steroids case on the West Coast what they think of federal shield rules.
It is not surprising that the only people who seem to care that journalists may be called to testify at the perjury and obstruction trial of former White House staffer I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby are journalists themselves.
To the rest of the nation, the idea that reporters should be immune from certain civic responsibilities (like being a witness in a criminal trial) simply plays into the burgeoning (and unfortunate) sense that journalists want special treatment when they deserve none.
That's just a fact that reporters have to live with in this age of intense cynicism toward the media. Another sad fact is that journalists who refuse to divulge their sources on principle often get in more trouble (read: jail for civil contempt) than any of the parties in the cases in which their testimony is sought.
In the end, former New York Times reporter Judy Miller may end up spending more time in jail (she was incarcerated for 12 weeks) than Libby might serve even if he is convicted. And just ask the reporters involved in the steroids case on the West Coast what they think of federal shield rules.
How gold pays for 