Authoritarian Ashcroft on an unfettered press

[grasswire]

ABRAMS: Let me ask you about the leak investigation. I want to read you this quote from an editorial in the generally conservative “New York Sun.”

“The zeal to prosecute these leak cases came in 2002, after then Attorney General John Ashcroft promised the chairman of the Senate's Intelligence Committee he would make the execution of the current law against leakers a priority, as a response to Senator Shelby of Alabama's request to rewrite that law to make it more punitive and broader in scope.”

True?

ASHCROFT: Well, we worked to make sure that we would do what we could to stop leaks.

As I said earlier, in the deadly game of hide and seek, the hiders have a big advantage if they know everything the seekers are doing. The leaks of classified and confidential and important law enforcement material are very—can be very damaging.

ABRAMS: Do you support investigating the press on those?

ASHCROFT: When it is necessary in order to get to the bottom of the situation, we have asked as well that the press cooperate.

The press should not be a party to leaks which damage the national security of the United States.

ABRAMS: And even if, in certain cases, it is—it is important to get the information out?

ASHCROFT: Well, classified information should not be leaked.

If we leave it in the judgment of everyone who handles information, that they have the right, thinking that this is important, so, therefore, I'm going to violate the law, we will have nothing but chaos. And, very frequently, very—pieces of—of information which appear by themselves to be innocuous can, when assembled with other portions of information which also appear to be innocent, be put together to reveal something that impairs the national security of the United States.

ABRAMS: All right. I...

(CROSSTALK)

ASHCROFT: It is unacceptable to let that happen.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10788489/