[Mb-civic] Media Tangled in Lobbyist Case - Washington Post

[William Swiggard]

Media Tangled in Lobbyist Case
Press Freedoms Debated After Wiretapping of Call to Reporter

By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, November 12, 2005; Page A10

On July 21, 2004, two pro-Israel lobbyists called Washington Post 
reporter Glenn Kessler to pass on information that they said was from 
"an American intelligence source" -- a source they declined to identify.

The two men assured Kessler that the mystery source was "100 percent 
credible" and had information about an Iranian plot to kill Americans 
and Israelis in Iraq.

What none of them knew was that federal investigators were wiretapping 
the call, or that it would figure in an indictment against the 
lobbyists, Steven J. Rosen and Keith Weissman, on charges of mishandling 
classified information -- even though no documents changed hands. In a 
city where secrets of varying import are whispered every day, the case 
has sparked a debate about whether prosecutors are attempting to 
criminalize conversations with journalists.

While the pending trial of the two former staffers for the American 
Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has been overshadowed by the CIA 
leak investigation, media advocates fear it could have an equally 
negative impact on the flow of information.

"Journalists who cover national security and defense receive classified 
information all the time," said Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the 
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. "It's virtually routine. 
If that were the standard for bringing an espionage case, we'd be 
locking up a lot of people in this town and there would be fewer sources 
of information."

Abbe Lowell, Rosen's attorney, called the indictment "devastating" for 
journalists who try "to make sure they're finding out what's really 
going on as opposed to what's said from the podium." Lowell added: "I'm 
absolutely amazed at the lack of media outrage."

The case raises some of the same First Amendment issues as the Valerie 
Plame leak inquiry, and not just because of the involvement of Kessler, 
who testified under a waiver of confidentiality that former vice 
presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby had not discussed the CIA 
operative with him. In both investigations, conversations with reporters 
are being treated not just as evidence but also as part of the alleged 
crimes.

Under a long-standing law enforcement practice, journalists have not 
been prosecuted for receiving classified information, putting them in an 
awkward position -- and making them potential witnesses -- if criminal 
charges are brought against their sources. Some press advocates are 
worried that journalists may even lose their protected status in such 
matters.

So far, prosecutors have secured one guilty plea. The unnamed source 
cited in the call to Kessler, Pentagon analyst Lawrence A. Franklin, 
admitted last month that he passed government secrets to Rosen and 
Weissman, as well as to an Israeli diplomat in Washington. Franklin said 
he relayed the information because he was "frustrated" with U.S. policy 
toward Iran and hoped to influence the administration.

Franklin's attorney, Plato Cacheris, said his client "never got a dime" 
and "did this for patriotic reasons." A spokesman for Paul J. McNulty, 
the U.S. attorney in Alexandria and President Bush's nominee to be 
deputy attorney general, declined to comment.

What makes this conspiracy case particularly unusual -- in addition to 
the fact that it involves a strong U.S. ally, Israel -- is that Rosen 
and Weissman are private citizens with no direct access to government 
secrets. They served as middlemen who passed what they could glean from 
Franklin to reporters, their bosses, officials and others.

"We are going to challenge the case vigorously, both factually and 
legally . . . and are confident that Keith Weissman will be vindicated," 
said John N. Nassikas, Weissman's attorney.

(continued)...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/11/AR2005111101649.html?nav=hcmodule
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