WaPo On the CIA Leaker

I find this quite offensive.

Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr. said people who provide citizens the information they need to hold their government accountable should not "come to harm for that."

"The reporting that Dana did was very important accountability reporting about how the CIA and the rest of the U.S. government have been conducting the war on terror," Downie said. "Whether or not the actions of the CIA or other agencies have interfered with anyone's civil liberties is important information for Americans to know and is an important part of our jobs."

In an effort to stem leaks, the Bush administration launched several initiatives earlier this year targeting journalists and national security employees. They include FBI probes, extensive polygraphing inside the CIA and a warning from the Justice Department that reporters could be prosecuted under espionage laws.

The effort has been widely seen among members of the media, and some legal experts, as the most extensive and overt campaign against leaks in a generation, and has worsened the already-tense relationship between mainstream news organizations and the White House.

So, people who violate the law that they are fully aware of shouldn't be held accountable if the MSM sees it as good? Sorry, I really would prefer not to have the decision as to what is appropriate for release to the MSM. Funny how this editor thinks that holding the government accountable seems to allow letting others be unaccountable. So I have only one question, where do you draw the line? And what gives you the right to make that decision?

I think that Will at Vodkapundit has it right, they should just convict her and throw away the key.