John Dean's latest article is on the Delay case.

[DemsUnited]

The Case Against Tom DeLay: What Has Happened To Grand Jury Secrecy In Texas?

By JOHN W. DEAN
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Friday, Oct. 07, 2005

What is one to make of the criminal charges against Tom DeLay?

I spoke with several knowledgeable Texas lawyers, of both parties, about the case against DeLay; they were willing to speak, but only off-the-record. Or, as one put it, "Who in hell wants to get in the middle of a fight between a polecat and a skunk?"
Click here to find out more!

(I don't like unidentified sources. But I will use them in this column, only because they are sharing nothing more their expertise, no inside information. They were offering their professional "speculation," if you will.)

There is no speculation, however, by the grand jurors who have spoken out in this case; they are familiar with the evidence prosecutors must have adduced, before them, to convince them to indict. And what they are saying appears dangerously close to breaking their oaths of secrecy.

<snip>

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20051007.html

[clydefrand]

1. Very good article. Thanks!

[Dudley_DUright]

2. I would really like to get his take on the latest news about Rove

testifying again. Dean is very good at explaining all the ramifications of the law in a careful and logical way.

[DemsUnited]

4. He's real good! Only problem I have is his "every other Friday" rule.

I want to read his opinion on events as they happen, and he's real strict about releasing an article only every other Friday.

On the other hand, it gives time for the dust to settle, which is probably one of the reasons his articles are so careful and logical...

At any rate, Dean was all over the espionage act early on...

<snip>

The Espionage Act of 1917

The Reagan Administration effectively used the Espionage Act of 1917 to prosecute a leak - to the horror of the news media. It was a case that was instituted to make a point, and establish the law, and it did just that in spades.

In July 1984, Samuel Morrison - the grandson of the eminent naval historian with the same name - leaked three classified photos to Jane's Defense Weekly. The photos were of the Soviet Union's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, which had been taken by a U.S. spy satellite.

Although the photos compromised no national security secrets, and were not given to enemy agents, the Reagan Administration prosecuted the leak. That raised the question: Must the leaker have an evil purpose to be prosecuted?

The Administration argued that the answer was no. As with Britain's Official Secrets Acts, the leak of classified material alone was enough to trigger imprisonment for up to ten years and fines. And the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit agreed. It held that the such a leak might be prompted by "the most laudable motives, or any motive at all," and it would still be a crime. As a result, Morrison went to jail.

The Espionage Act, though thrice amended since then, continues to criminalize leaks of classified information, regardless of the reason for the leak. Accordingly, the "two senior administration officials" who leaked the classified information of Mrs. Wilson's work at the CIA to Robert Novak (and, it seems, others) have committed a federal crime.

<snip>

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20030815.html

Not sure if this is the same espionage act the NYT is talking in today's article about Rove, but hey, the more ammo Fitzgerald has, the better.

[Montauk6]

3. Ohhh, I could imagine Johnny don't like "unidentified sources."