Eat The Press

Today In History: One Year Ago, Judy Miller Went To Jail

Posted Thursday July 6, 2006 at 09:23 AM

Big year since then. For all that eventually emerged about Miller, PlameGate, Scooter Libby, Karl Rove - and is still emerging about the roles of Dick Cheney and George Bush - reporters and their rights to gather and publish information and protect sources are still very much under fire - far more than last year at this time, as we have seen.

Slate's Peter Scheer knows this, and brings a new strategy for reporters to the table: instead of pleading the First Amendment, plead the Fifth. Based on comments from trigger-happy Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, which open the door to prosecuting journalists under federal espionage laws for publishing classified information, Scheer points out that journalists have every right to refuse to speak for fear of incriminating themselves. Taking the fifth is a "badge of honor" he says, which means that reporters have done their job.