AP
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said that journalists can be prosecuted for publishing classified information, claiming that national security interests would justify targeting the press. "There are some statutes on the book which, if you read the language carefully, would seem to indicate that that is a possibility," said Gonzales, who is famous for his willingness to flexibly interpret laws on controversial issues. "We have an obligation to enforce those laws. We have an obligation to ensure that our national security is protected." But says Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press executive director Lucy Dalglish: "I can't imagine a bigger chill on free speech and the public's right to know what it's government is up to -- both hallmarks of a democracy -- than prosecuting reporters."
