Circular Firing Squad

As we all know, Robert Novak revealed that Valerie Plame's wife was a CIA Operative, potentially an act of treason. And now this issue is under investigation. This presents a little bit of a challenge for the right wing. Novak is one of them, and defending the right of Republicans to do whatever they want is important. On the other hand, it's also an opportunity to slam into the Press, which is something every red blooded Republican enjoys. What's the answer?

Well Jonah Goldberg, editor of the National Review, has decided to take the second tack. He does focus on the testimony of Judith Miller (who is not, in fact, Robert Novak). But he does make it clear where he stands.

One of these journalists, Judith Miller of the New York Times, is scheduled to appear before a judge this week and may go to jail if she doesn't spill the beans (this column was filed on the eve of her appearance). She vows that she won't reveal her sources. Miller's case is special because she never wrote about Plame.

But now liberals are furious that journalists might actually have to help the investigation they demanded. Journalists are beyond indignant. As a group, they seem to think asking journalists to reveal their sources is more sacrilegious than using a church as a stable.

. . . Indeed, the reigning talking point from the First Amendment voluptuaries is that lawyers and doctors are protected from revealing secrets, why shouldn't journalists be? Well, lawyers are not allowed to help their clients break the law, and neither are doctors. If it's against the law to ID a CIA agent, why should journalists - including Novak - be automatically off-the-hook?

This is a tricky question in my mind. I can see why journalists would fight it; it's a slippery slope. But this particular case seems pretty open and shut to me. Someone in the White House outed a CIA agent. That's serious.

And of course, there's the source. Jonah Goldberg bites Robert Novak. Wonder how that will shake out.