Report: Justice Dept. Asked 2 To Plead Guilty in Leak to 'NYT'

Editor&Publisher


NEW YORK- In a lengthy article posted today at the Huffington Post site, well-known investigative journalist Murray Waas reveals that the Justice Department earlier this year asked two individuals to plead guilty to criminal charges that they leaked classified information about the Bush administration's warrantless surveillance program to the New York Times, federal law enforcement sources say.

"But the evidence against the two people asked to plead guilty was scant, according to other federal investigators involved in the case, and the guilty pleas were sought as a last ditch effort by the Justice Department to avoid having to compel testimony from the Times against its own sources.

"Unable to obtain guilty pleas, the federal prosecutor in charge of the leak case has now informally recommended that the Justice Department move forward to compel testimony from the Times. He has argued that it will be difficult to bring criminal charges without such testimony.

"As a result, one of the first major decisions likely to be made by Attorney General-designate Michael Mukasey, if confirmed by the Senate, will be whether to subpoena reporters for the Times to testify.".........