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.
"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."
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