LOL Looks Like No 'Crime' In Plame Case

[Annie]

http://justoneminute.typepad.com/main/2005/03/plame_case_not_.html

Lots of links.

March 24, 2005
Plame Case - Not A Crime?
Jack Shafer gets results! Per the WaPo:

A federal court should first determine whether a crime has been committed in the disclosure of an undercover CIA operative's name before prosecutors are allowed to continue seeking testimony from journalists about their confidential sources, the nation's largest news organizations and journalism groups asserted in a court filing yesterday.

The 40-page brief, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, argues that there is "ample evidence . . . to doubt that a crime has been committed" in the case, which centers on the question of whether Bush administration officials knowingly revealed the identity of undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame in the summer of 2003. Plame's name was published first by syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak and later by other publications.

Glenn Reynolds asks, presumably rhetorically, why the major media are coming to this realization only after the election - folks like Jack Shafer were making this argument in September 2003. Glenn does not link to this - heh.

The "no crime" theme was also kicked around by James Taranto when the light shone on the NY Times a month ago.

However, the real "Shafer gets results" is this - back in mid February, he advised the NY Times legal strategists to get a new attorney, in a piece headlined "Fire Floyd Abrams. Hire Bruce Sanford".

Well, hello, Bruce - what does the WaPo tell us:

Bruce W. Sanford, a lawyer who handled the case for the group of news organizations, said yesterday that "it's a very poor result if somehow reporters got entangled in a net of prison sentences in an investigation which ends up with no indictment because no crime has been committed."

OK, we argued last month that this strategy was the best available, but unlikely to succeed, and we will stand pat. Beldar reached a similar conclusion, and has a much snappier title here (with a broken link!).

Finally, here is one of the Sanford articles that set this ball in motion.