Judith Miller Calls For Shield Laws For Journalists

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Former New York Times reporter Judith Miller on Thursday called on the US Congress to enact a federal shield law that would protect journalists from being forced to disclose their sources.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, who was jailed for 85 days in 2005 after refusing to tell prosecutors which of her sources had outed CIA agent Valerie Plame, said the US was now shrouded in secrecy in the post-9/11 era.

A vast amount of information which had been accessible to the public was made confidential by the administration of US President George W. Bush, she said in a speech at the Foreign Correspondents' Club here.

"I have never seen such an abuse of secrecy in the name of national security since I arrived in Washington, DC, 35 years ago," said Miller, who specialises in covering bio-terrorism.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[Freedoms Friend]

From the main story line "But Miller warned Obama supporters that he might not be the perfect guardian of press freedoms, saying: "Obama is not very press-friendly. He's very suspicious of the press, and I think that it's true of all presidents."
Here we have Miller showing her political bias for continuation of the Bush regime but inadvertently stating that Obama will be the next president of the United States.

[Axolotl]

w her record, n ee ds Dep ends, not a shi eld

[buddhistMonkey]

I was going to write something snarky about how liars and government propagandists shouldn't be subject to a shield law, but with literally 100% of the responses on this page saying the same thing, but better, I think the point I was trying to make is in good hands here.

[bitabingbitabangbitaboom]

She`s lucky the Judge did not hold her in contempt in Gitmo........................hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[endymian]

and the law should be called the cheney shield law. judith miller was either being used by, or in league with cheney, libby, bush to plant false information in the nyt. as documented pulbished articles, her colleagues even refused to have their names credited with her, because they didn't find her, or her information credible. what the public needs is a law that shields us from the likes of judith miller and the switch and bait tactics she participated in, or fronted for the white house operatives.

[charon]

MIller is just a big tool used by tyrants to spread lies. No wonder she's begging for protection. The dirty s

[charon]

tuff she's done deserve nothing but contempt.

[DocR]

We all need a shield law to protect us from lying reporters who spread false information, like Judith Miller.

[DocR]

Judith Miller demanding a "shield law" after the lies she printed that helped convince 70% of Americans we should invade Iraq! That's rich. This story belongs in The Onion. And Judith Miller belongs in prison.

[olderdem]

Miller should be charged with crimes against humanity in the world court.

[dukeitout]

A shield law for a specific group of people? I don't think so. There's nothing special about journalists. As a group they're an unexceptional group in my opinion. No one has the right to tell malicious lies based on information received from a "protected" source. Nice try Judith.

[protagonia]

How convenient for her to suddenly want a shield law right now.

Hmm...

[owiseone]

Judy's still claiming to be a reporter??????? Isn't she a war criminal along with the rest of the war criminals?

Are reporters supposed to pass lies to their readers, lies so huge that they conspire to help cause death and destruction to hundreds and thousands of innocent people, including our own soldiers?

Nothing so simple as pretending to be a REAL reporter entitled to shield laws will make her soul clean. Even with a shield law, she's still a traitor.

[myshadow]

I think we should just enforce the laws we have on treason, and accessory to war crimes.

[clarkbarr]

How does she sleep?

[Big0725]

Probably with one eye open.

[benross]

After serving as the Bush mouthpiece, now she wants shield laws? What a joke.
Ms. Miller should retire or go work for Fox where they get paid to make up stories.

[Posterella]

Judith Miller is a symptom of a bigger problem in this country. The "news" has become filler between advertisements. Corporate interests own and influence the "news." Tell me that NBC is going to be completely unbiased in its reporting of the war when its owner, G.E., is a leading manufacturer of jet engines for military aircraft. Why did CBS edit out McCain's gaffe in his interview with Katie Couric? Because a good percentage of advertisers are pro-business/pro-Republican. Can't offend the viewing public who like McCain, either, right?

Lucky we have HuffPost. Let's hope it stays committed to getting the truth out.