Why hasn't Novak been indicted for treason?

[radiclib]

Since when does freedom of the press cover the outing of a CIA agent? Just thought I'd ask....:wtf:

[evil_orange_cat]

1. because Bush is president...

why hasn't Ken Lay been sent to a federal "pound me in the ass" prison? same answer...

[Dookus]

2. Easy answer...

read the constitution. You'll find a very specific definition of Treason. It's one of the few (the only?) crimes spelled out in the constitution.

Section. 3.
Clause 1: Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

Clearly this doesn't apply to Novak. Furthermore, the law regarding the naming of operatives doesn't apply to him either.

Do you REALLY want to live in a country that arrests journalists for publishing the truth? I don't.

Whoever leaked to Novak broke the law. It is the duty of the government to keep its own secrets. The Press is not responsible for that, nor should it be.

[theivoryqueen]

4. e-mail that to Ann Coulter!

I think she might be a bit confused

[radiclib]

5. Thanks for clarifying

Of course you're right, but it's still frustrating that Novak's integrity hasn't been called into question, and he gets to continue with his absurd blathering as if nothing happened. Obviously the leaking operatives are to blame, but what Novak did is morally indefensible, and no one is calling him on it.

[Dookus]

6. I sympathize with your frustration...

Novak did a morally reprehensible thing, and our sense of fair play wants SOMETHING to be done to him.

But this is one of this issues where we just have to have faith in karma.

[theivoryqueen]

3. there is still the myth of the fourth estate and the first amendment...

It is hard to reconcile both protection of "whistle blowers" privacy and the freedom of information act... not to mention actual justice!

[the populist]

7. Wasn't Novak against the war?

On the McCloughlin Group (spelling?) Pat Buchanan said that some neoconservative website ought to be ashamed for calling Novak unAmerican for being against the war. I know that Novak plays the pro-war role on Crossfire, but aren't his articles paleoconservative? Or did I just not hear Buchanan correctly?

[Dookus]

8. You're correct...

Novak opposed the war, but he doesn't really mention it anymore. Pat Buchanan continues to rail against it.

[KharmaTrain]

9. The "Old Man" Effect

I've been noticing a real change in Novak since his alter ego/evil twin Rolland Evans died in 2000. Before he always, while a Repugnican hack, would try to balance out his interviews and reports and stay "above the fray"...in the fashionable "Old Washington" way.

Those days ended with the 24/7 news cycle and the non-stop spin that puts the attack dogs on the front pages and have relegated the old-timers like the Gergens and Broders and Saffires to the fringes of the real political dynamic. The "fraternity" Novak lived in has begun to shrink and die off and a new breed of "hungry pups" are now trying to push him out. He's biting back at them and the mess they've created.

Novak's a bitter old man who has few real friends inside the Beltway and resents the fact time and life has passed him by. He doesn't care what he says, what he does, who he burns, who he doesn't...I mean this for the Right Wingnuts who he uses just as much as they use him, the "liberals" who are his bread and butter, life-long punching bags and life in general that doesn't revere his age and sage as some type of gospel. Yep, he's the boorish Uncle Scrooge...three-piece suit and all.

It's well known he destests Tucker Carlson and is purely play for pay...he won't say a word that he isn't paid for. One of my viewing highlights is to watch him get knocked around on Cap Gang each week by his "friends" Mark Shields and Al Hunt...they're both onto his game and love to zing it home on the old geezer.

Maybe Novak will be called to testify in front of a Grand Jury and may invoke the Fifth. Maybe he'll reach an agreement with the Prosecutor, Fitzgerald, to disclose without disclosing (the All The President's game of not saying no or denying...) and his involvement will only be of interest to us political animals and no one else. While his actions are part of a treasonist act, he was the messenger, not the orignator of this plan and that's the person we need to find.

[number6]

10. yes, ...why ????

:shrug:

[Lostmessage]

11. Because

The person that leaked the name was George Bush and he is not going to let his boy Bob go down.