By the way, I'm not a lawyer, but this portion of the United States Code (Title 18, Part 1, Chapt. 37, Section 798) seems relevant to me (emphasis added):
For more on Leaks and the Law, see Gabriel Schoenfeld's article by that title.Whoever knowingly and willfully communicates, furnishes, transmits, or otherwise makes available to an unauthorized person, or publishes, or uses in any manner prejudicial to the safety or interest of the United States or for the benefit of any foreign government to the detriment of the United States any classified information . . . concerning the communication intelligence activities of the United States . . . shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both [emphasis added].
Though some readers will clearly chalk this up to hyperbole, it's hard for me not to think that Heather Mac Donald is right when she concludes: "BY NOW IT'S UNDENIABLE: The New York Times is a national security threat. So drunk is it on its own power and so antagonistic to the Bush administration that it will expose every classified antiterror program it finds out about, no matter how legal the program, how carefully crafted to safeguard civil liberties, or how vital to protecting American lives." And: "Al Qaeda has long worked to manipulate the media in its favor. It can disband that operation now, knowing that, unbidden, America's most powerful newspaper is looking out for its interests."
NYT editor Bill Keller responds to critics in this yesterday's edition, and is frisked by Hugh Hewitt.
Update: Glenn Reynolds (aka, Instapundit) also reacts to Keller's response.
And here is President Bush's take (emphasis added):
"Congress was briefed, and what we did was fully authorized under the law, and the disclosure of this program is disgraceful. We're at war with a bunch of people who want to hurt the United States of america, and for people to leak that program and for a newspaper to publish it does great harm to the United States of America. What we were doing was the right thing. Congress was aware of it, and we were within the law to do so. The American people expect this government to protect our constitutional liberties and at the same time make sure we understand what the terrorists are trying to do. The 9/11 Commission recommended this the government be robust. If you want to figure out what the terrorists are doing, you try to follow their money, and that's exactly what we're doing, and the fact that a newspaper disclosed it makes it harder to win this war on terror. Thank you."
