Author: jpol

At long last The New York Times has published its long-awaited exposé detailing its role and that of its Pulitzer Prize winning reporter, Judith Miller in the scandal that has come to be commonly referred to as “Plamegate.”

It is not a pretty picture. Neither the Times nor Judith Miller emerge from this article looking at all favorable. More problematical for the Times, whose reputation has been badly tarnished by this affair, the article seemingly raises more questions than it answers both about the veracity of Judith Miller and the transparency of America’s “newspaper of record,” The New York Times.

The new Times article is far from kind to Judith Miller, nor does it offer compelling justification for Miller’s long refusal to testify before Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald’s grand jury that has been investigating the July 2003 outing of Valerie Plame Wilson as a covert CIA agent involved in preventing the proliferation of WMD.

The article notes that “three courts, including the Supreme Court declined to back Ms. Miller.” The Times neglected to point out that some of the judges supported the principle of a journalist being allowed to protect sources, but felt that national security considerations along with the evidence that a serious crime had been committed outweighed any right Miller might ordinarily have to protect this source.

The Times also neglected to mention that Fitzgerald knew all along that Miller’s source was I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby. He identified Libby in his initial court filings against Miller. The Times dances around speculation that Miller herself might be a target of Fitzgerald’s investigation, and that some feel her refusal to testify might indicate a desire to shield herself rather than Libby. The article does note that some “critics said The Times was protecting not a whistle-blower but an administration campaign intended to squelch dissent.”

Below: AN UNFLATTERING PORTRAIT OF JUDITH MILLER’S REPORTING …

Ward Harklavy of the Village Voice has revealed that even more about President Bush’s October 13th videoconference with U.S. troops and an Iraqi soldier was staged than was apparent on the television screen.

In an embarrassing episode for the White House, television cameras captured a lengthy rehearsal of the teleconference with deputy assistant defense secretary Allison Barber coaching the soldiers before the arrival of the president.

Despite the captured-on-film moment the Pentagon denies that the event was staged, and Bush’s press secretary Scott McClellan insists that reporters who asked about the apparent staging of the event are getting caught up in “side issues.” “I think what the American people heard was some very important information from our men and women in uniform,”

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