The Justice Department has charged that a veteran New York Times foreign correspondent warned an alleged terror-funding Islamic charity that the FBI was about to raid its office — potentially endangering the lives of federal agents.
The stunning accusation was disclosed yesterday in legal papers related to a lawsuit the Times filed in Manhattan federal court.
The suit seeks to block subpoenas from the Justice Department for phone records of two of its Middle Eastern reporters — Philip Shenon and Judith Miller — as part of a probe to track down the leak.
The Times last night flatly denied the allegation.
Matt's Chat
Here is my favorite part:U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald of Chicago charged in court papers that Shenon blew the cover on the Dec. 14, 2001, raid of the Global Relief Foundation — the first charges of their kind under broad new investigatory powers given to the feds under the Patriot Act.How can the Times think this is a good thing? I would think they would want to cooperate with the investigation and get to the bottom of the matter as quickly as possible.
"It has been conclusively established that Global Relief Foundation learned of the search from reporter Philip Shenon of The New York Times," Fitzgerald said in an Aug. 7, 2002, letter to the Times' legal department.
He said he understood journalists' concerns about protecting the identities of their sources, but national security and preventing leaks that thwart probes into "terrorist fund-raising" trump such confidentiality.
One can imagine the implications of having the New York Times go down in flames in the same month as SeeBS. Old Media is dying. And they don't think they need to see a doctor.
And before the Ashcroft haters come out in full force, this isn't about censorship. It is about stopping terrorism and the funding of terrorism. I think that was in John Kerry's seven point plan somewhere too...
Mark's Remarks
Yep, who cares that a journalist aided and abetted a terrorist supporting organization, let's crucify John Ashcroft! Give me a break. It is ridiculous this garbage. I am sorry, I would rather have this journalist in jail with his terror buddies than him still being able to support terrorists and enjoying free speech.
Do I want to ban the 1st Amendment? No, not at all. However, in this instance, there is so much more to this story than simple censorship. What the media has been doing subliminally (supporting terror), this journalist did in blatant action! The book should be thrown at him. Nuff said.
