Karl Rove named as a source of Plame leak
{{date|July 3, 2005}}
[[Image:Karl Rove.jpg|thumb|left|100px|'''[[Karl Rove]]''', president [[George W. Bush]]'s chief political advisor]]
A reporter's notes subpoenaed by the U.S. District Court in Washington may show [[United States]] President [[George W. Bush]]'s chief political advisor [[Karl Rove]] as one of the two sources behind the leaking of the identity of undercover [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] agent [[Valerie Plame]], according to one or more anonymous sources cited by MSNBC. 

However, Rove's lawyer, Donald Luskin, acknowledged that although Rove had communicated with Cooper shortly before Plame's identity was leaked, denied any wrongdoing on the part of his client, saying that "Rove absolutely did not identify Valerie Plame."

The notes are those of {{w|TIME magazine}} White House correspondent {{w|Matthew Cooper}}.  They were released by Norman Pearlstine, editor-in-chief of TIME Inc., by order of the court, in ruling that, in the case of leaking the identity of CIA agents, reporters must reveal the identity of their sources.

The court's ruling was based on the clause in Constitutional law summarized popularly with the phrase "Crying fire in a crowded theater": that when the degree to which the speech puts the safety of others at risk outweighs the degree to which it benefits others, so does their right to safety and security outweigh one's right to free expression. 

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear the reporters' appeal of the case.

=== Background ===
{{QuoteRight|At the end of the day, it's of keen interest to me to see whether or not we can get Karl Rove frog-marched out of the White House in handcuffs|4=Joseph C. Wilson, retired diplomat}}
''TIME'' magazine announced Thursday they would identify the {{w|White House}} leak from reporter Matthew Cooper's notes. The decision by ''TIME'' came after a federal judge in {{w|Washington, D.C.|Washington}} gave the magazine and ''[[The New York Times]]'' 48 hours to comply with a months long order to provide information on the sources of press leaks. {{w|Judith Miller (journalist)|Judith Miller}} of ''The New York Times'', along with Cooper at ''TIME'', face jail time for their refusal to name anonymous sources. The steadfast refusal by Cooper and Miller to personally identify their sources may lead to an 18 month jail sentence.

The case against Cooper stemmed from a July 6, 2003 Op-Ed piece published by the ''Times'', where {{w|Joseph C. Wilson|Joseph C. Wilson IV}} disputed the assertion made by President Bush in his {{w|State of the Union Address}} that [[Saddam Hussein]] tried to buy uranium from [[Niger]].

A week later Valerie Plame, Wilson's wife, was identified as a CIA operative in a news story written by {{w|Robert D. Novak}}, a conservative pundit. The news blew Plame's cover, and the information was obtained by two anonymous White House sources. The leak to the press was thought by some to be retaliation for her husband's Op-Ed story. Wilson blamed Rove for the leak, saying in an Aug. 21, 2003 public panel, "At the end of the day, it's of keen interest to me to see whether or not we can get Karl Rove frog-marched out of the White House in handcuffs. And trust me, when I use that name, I measure my words." [http://www.pacificviews.org/archives/000094.html]

Cooper wrote and had published stories about the issue at ''TIME''. Miller did research, but did not write a story. The reporter Novak who broke the story, remained silent on the case until Wednesday, and said on [[CNN|''CNN'']]'s ''Inside Politics'' that, "They're not going to jail because of me."

Journalists usually protect their sources' wishes of anonymity, in order to retain a vital channel of information from {{w|Whistleblower|whistle-blowers}} and others with controversial information. The tension between the press and the U.S. Federal judiciary highlights what Rick Rodriquez, executive director of the American Association of Newspaper Editors, calls "the need to have a discussion around the federal shield law." A "shield" {{w|statute}} could grant confidentiality between reporters and anonymous sources similarly to the right granted in {{w|Attorney/client privilege|attorney-client privilege}}.

The decision by his employer ''TIME'' to reveal a source may spare veteran reporter Cooper time behind bars. His employer is in possession of his notes and therefore has knowledge of the source. In the case of Miller, ''The New York Times'' claims it has no such reporting notes.

{{haveyoursay}}
== Sources ==
*{{source|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/02/AR2005070201043.html
|title=Lawyer says Rove talked to reporter, did not leak name
|author=Carol D. Leonnig
|pub=The Washington Post
|date=July 3, 2005}}

*{{source|url=http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000972841
|title=Reports Reveal Karl Rove Named in Matt Cooper Documents 
|author=Greg Mitchell
|pub=Editor & Publisher
|date=July 2, 2005}}

*{{source|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1079464,00.html
|title=When to Give Up a Source
|author=Bill Saporito
|pub=TIME magazine
|date=July 2, 2005}}

*{{source|url=http://news.baou.com/main.php?action=recent&rid=20318 
|title=Analyst: Cooper Documents Reveal Karl Rove As Source
|author=
|pub=OfficialWire
|date=July 2, 2005}}

*{{source|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8445696/site/newsweek/ 
|title=The Rove Factor?
|author=Michael Isikoff
|pub=Newsweek
|date=July 2, 2005}}

*{{source|url= http://www.mediainfo.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000972839
|title=MSNBC Analyst Says Cooper Documents Reveal Karl Rove as Source in Plame Case
|author=
|pub=Editor & Publisher 
|date=July 1, 2005}}

== Background sources ==

*[[w:Valerie Plame|Valerie Plame]] at our sister project, Wikipedia

*{{source|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/01/AR2005070101962.html
|title=Reporters Ask Judge for Home Detention
|author=Carol D. Leonnig
|pub=The Washington Post
|date=July 2, 2005}}

*{{source|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/bal-te.reporters01jul01,1,6057308.story
|title='Time' decides to name source who leaked agent's identity
|author=Nick Madigan
|pub=BaltimoreSun.com
|date=July 1, 2005}}

*{{source|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/bal-te.reporters30jun30,1,7761250.story
|title=Judge indicates patience for reporters running out
|author=Nick Madigan
|pub=BaltimoreSun.com
|date=June 30, 2005}}

*{{source|url=http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/espionageact.htm
|title=Espionage Act of 1917
|author=US House of Representaives
|pub=firstworldwar.com
|date=June 15th 1917}}

{{publish}}
{{PD-Article}}
{{archive}}
[[Category:North America]]
[[Category:United States]]
[[Category:Crime and law]]
[[Category:Politics and conflicts]]
[[Category:Valerie Plame scandal]]
[[Category:George W. Bush]]
[[Category:CIA]]
[[Category:Karl Rove]]
[[Category:New York Times]]
[[Category:Time (magazine)]]
[[Category:Executive Office of the President of the United States]]
'Karl Rove', president George W. Bush's chief political advisor
A reporter's notes subpoenaed by the U.S. District Court in Washington may show United States President George W. Bush's chief political advisor Karl Rove as one of the two sources behind the leaking of the identity of undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame, according to one or more anonymous sources cited by MSNBC. 

However, Rove's lawyer, Donald Luskin, acknowledged that although Rove had communicated with Cooper shortly before Plame's identity was leaked, denied any wrongdoing on the part of his client, saying that "Rove absolutely did not identify Valerie Plame."

The notes are those of Matthew Cooper.  They were released by Norman Pearlstine, editor-in-chief of TIME Inc., by order of the court, in ruling that, in the case of leaking the identity of CIA agents, reporters must reveal the identity of their sources.

The court's ruling was based on the clause in Constitutional law summarized popularly with the phrase "Crying fire in a crowded theater": that when the degree to which the speech puts the safety of others at risk outweighs the degree to which it benefits others, so does their right to safety and security outweigh one's right to free expression. 

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear the reporters' appeal of the case.

The case against Cooper stemmed from a July 6, 2003 Op-Ed piece published by the Times, where Joseph C. Wilson IV disputed the assertion made by President Bush in his  that Saddam Hussein tried to buy uranium from Niger.

A week later Valerie Plame, Wilson's wife, was identified as a CIA operative in a news story written by , a conservative pundit. The news blew Plame's cover, and the information was obtained by two anonymous White House sources. The leak to the press was thought by some to be retaliation for her husband's Op-Ed story. Wilson blamed Rove for the leak, saying in an Aug. 21, 2003 public panel, "At the end of the day, it's of keen interest to me to see whether or not we can get Karl Rove frog-marched out of the White House in handcuffs. And trust me, when I use that name, I measure my words." 

Cooper wrote and had published stories about the issue at TIME. Miller did research, but did not write a story. The reporter Novak who broke the story, remained silent on the case until Wednesday, and said on CNN's Inside Politics that, "They're not going to jail because of me."

Journalists usually protect their sources' wishes of anonymity, in order to retain a vital channel of information from whistle-blowers and others with controversial information. The tension between the press and the U.S. Federal judiciary highlights what Rick Rodriquez, executive director of the American Association of Newspaper Editors, calls "the need to have a discussion around the federal shield law." A "shield" Attorney/client privilege|attorney-client privilege.

The decision by his employer TIME to reveal a source may spare veteran reporter Cooper time behind bars. His employer is in possession of his notes and therefore has knowledge of the source. In the case of Miller, The New York Times claims it has no such reporting notes.


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North America United States Crime and law Politics and conflicts Valerie Plame scandal George W. Bush CIA Karl Rove New York Times Time (magazine) Executive Office of the President of the United States