Gonzales: Prosecution of journalists possible in NSA leaks

Gonzales: Prosecution of journalists possible in NSA leaks
The attorney general also said the government will not hesitate to track calls made by reporters as part of a criminal leak inquiry.
Copyright by The Associated Press
Monday, May 22, 2006
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Sunday that he thinks journalists can be prosecuted for publishing classified information, citing an obligation to national security.

The nation's top law enforcement officer also said the government will not hesitate to track telephone calls made by reporters as part of a criminal leak investigation, but officials would not do so routinely and randomly.

The government is investigating the unauthorized disclosure of a CIA operative's name to journalists as well as the leaking of information to The New York Times about the National Security Agency's program involving eavesdropping without warrants.

Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said she presumed that Gonzales was referring to the 1917 Espionage Act, which she said has never been interpreted to prosecute journalists who were providing information to the public.

"I can't imagine a bigger chill on free speech and the public's right to know what its government is up to — both hallmarks of a democracy — than prosecuting reporters," Dalglish said.

Gonzales would not comment on whether the Times should be prosecuted for disclosing the NSA program last year based on classified information.

He also denied that authorities would randomly check journalists' records on domestic-to-domestic phone calls in an effort to find journalists' confidential sources.

"We don't engage in domestic-to-domestic surveillance without a court order," Gonzales said, under a "probable cause" legal standard.

But he said the First Amendment right of a free press should not be absolute when it comes to national security.