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A NEW YORK Times reporter has asked the US Supreme Court to block an order that would require him to reveal the confidential source for his book exposing CIA secrets.
In a brief filed yesterday, James Risen’s lawyers said the case is a test of freedom of the press in investigating government misconduct.
“This case has been transformed into a potential constitutional showdown over the First Amendment and the role of the press in the United States because of the Obama Administration’s aggressive use of the powers of the government to try to rein in independent national security reporting,” Risen said in a statement to the Times’ public editor Margaret Sullivan and published in the newspaper.
Risen blamed US President Barack Obama’s White House for provoking “a basic constitutional fight over whether a reporter’s privilege exists.”
And he insisted: “It is the Obama administration that wants to use this case and others like it to intimidate reporters and whistle blowers.
“But I am appealing to the Supreme Court because it is too dangerous to allow the government to conduct national security policy completely in the dark.”
Risen has been ordered to testify in the trial of former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling, who is accused of disclosing confidential information of a secret operation against Iran.
Risen’s 2006 book “State of War” contained information about what was described as a botched attempt by the CIA to have a former Russian scientist pass intentionally flawed nuclear blueprints to Iran to undermine its nuclear program.
“I fervently hope the court takes on his case and rules strongly in his favor,” Sullivan wrote. “Mr. Risen has said in the past that he is willing to go to jail rather than reveal the identity of his source.”
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Good to see a reporter standing up to Obama et all – and his wish to curtail free journalism .
He should be supported .
Obama waging war on Journalists – the last thing US govt .wants is freedom of Press .
Aristotle tells us that tyrants hunt down those who oppose their power- and Obama is such a tyrant – as have most of US Presidents – and getting worse .
Who downvotes this…….it’s spot on.
If there’s no freedom of press, there’s no alternative opinion.
Without debate, without criticism, no Administration and no country can succeed — and no republic can survive. [...] And that is why our press was protected by the First Amendment — the only business in America specifically protected by the Constitution — not primarily to amuse and entertain, not to emphasize the trivial and the sentimental, not to simply “give the public what it wants” — but to inform, to arouse, to reflect, to state our dangers and our opportunities, to indicate our crises and our choices, to lead, mold, educate and sometimes even anger public opinion.
John F Kennedy
Passing flawed plans to Iran is the least bad thing they have been accused of
Great courage shown, fair play.
The New York Times is a paper which has colluded with the US Government numerous times in oder to appease it. They have previously withheld knowledge from the public on drone strikes at the request of the US Government. While objectivity can never be truly attained in newspapers it should be strived for.
A surprise heart attack our car crash on the way for this man !!
Writing long articles criticising the whistleblowers and then defending his right to keep his sources secret. His sources are no different to the whistleblowers. The standards and hypocrisy of some journalists is nauseating.
And the hypocrisy of the CIA?
While I don’t trust NYT generally, I’d certainly defend their right to resist a request (/threat) from the shameful, clandestine and murdurous CIA, which goes against their constitutionally enshrined journalistic privilege.
Could u give links to support your accusations ??
Was that question for me or Ryleigh, Jim? I’m presuming the latter.
Obviously, there are plenty of links to support my accusations! There are also admissions.
Yeah it’s been more or less proved they are Criminals
In
Action
for Rryleigh – actually your comment was not visible when I wrote
One ‘r’ only.
Naomi Wolff wrote and spoke about all of this a few years back.
I think she said that the final straw for her would be when the government started locking up journalists.
Obama is the toothy, smiling, affable version of his dipshit Cheney-front predecessor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H20CoqyoqtI
The NY Times is an anti-Irish news paper
It is a well known organisation,with very very dodgy people working for it.The point I am making is that regardless of their activities exposing them via a secret source that could be an agent of a foreign agency engaged in a counter espionage mission. The journalist has neither the training or the expertise to handle the information via a public forum…the media. Obscure ,obfuscate and distort information in a logical and rational way is what counter intelligence does to obtain it’s goals.
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