New York Daily News - News & Views Columnists - Mark Corallo: Stop Justice Dept.'s attack on reporters

New York Daily News - News & Views Columnists - Mark Corallo: Stop Justice Dept.'s attack on reporters:

"And in the Eastern District of Virginia, the Justice Department is using antiquated espionage statutes to prosecute two lobbyists for the pro-Israel organization AIPAC for receiving classified information. This is significant because it provides a chilling prospect for the many members of the media who receive classified information (most often unknowingly) on a daily basis.

"Will federal prosecutors use this case as the precedent to go after reporters for getting leaks? It's not wild speculation. In public statements, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has hinted that this may be an avenue of attack in future cases."

Thus argues a former public affairs officer for the Justice Department. Having conceded that the law doesn't distinguish between reporters and other citizens he still says that reporters must have rights not enjoyed by the rest of the public. Somehow the logic of why reporters should be privileged to receive classified information and - much more importantly - to transmit it to third parties escapes me.

Even more surprising is the way he works in the AIPAC case. The recipients of classified information there were lobbyists for the interests of a foreign power and not journalists. How could their prosecution be chilling to journalists?

And then, of course, the question he doesn't even acknowledge: Who is a journalist? Reporters and editors for the New York Times or CBS? Certainly. A freelance writer whose work regularly appears in places like Harper's and The Atlantic? Probably. An academic who publishes articles in outlets like Foreign Affairs? Maybe. What about people who write for or edit private newsletters or industry trade papers? What about the newsletter writer whose product appears not in print but only on the Web? What about bloggers? If there is to be a privileged class of persons called journalists, who is to be included?