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Judith Miller walked free from a Virginia jail yesterday after striking a deal to testify before a grand jury investigating the leak of the identity of a CIA agent. The New York Times reporter had been imprisoned since early July for refusing to reveal her confidential sources. At this hour, she is testifying before a grand jury, and that testimony is expected to pierce the inner circle of the White House. NPR's David Folkenflik has the story.
DAVID FOLKENFLIK reporting:
The mystery of the summer centered around the polarizing and Pulitzer-winning reporter Judy Miller. Miller went to jail under a contempt of court citation for refusing to say who she talked to about undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame. Here's what Times' executive editor, Bill Keller, said in July after Miller was sent to jail.
Mr. BILL KELLER (The New York Times Executive Editor): If Judy's determination to honor her professional commitment is not an attempt to put herself above the law, the choice she made is a brave and principled choice and it reflects a valuing of individual conscience that has been part of this country's tradition since its founding.
FOLKENFLIK: Now Miller will tell a grand jury about her source, and that source is Lewis Libby, the chief of staff for Vice President Richard Cheney. In a statement, Miller said she only agreed to testify because, quote, "My source has now voluntarily and personally released me from my promise of confidentiality regarding our conversations." Libby's lawyer, Joseph Tate, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that Libby wrote Miller and called to assure her his cooperation was voluntary.
The inquiry dates back to an episode in July 2003. Columnist Robert Novak cited two senior administration officials to report Plame was responsible for sending her husband, a former ambassador, to the African nation of Niger. He was to look for proof that former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had sought materials for weapons of mass destruction there. But former Ambassador Joe Wilson didn't find it and he criticized the administration for what he said was inflating the case for the invasion of Iraq.
For nearly two years, special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has been investigating whether federal officials committed a crime in disclosing the identity of Plame to reporters. Miller said Fitzgerald agreed her testimony would be limited to a single source, Libby. Plame's husband, Joe Wilson, and prosecutor Fitzgerald both argued the disclosure of her identity was retribution for Wilson's criticism of the White House and Fitzgerald said he only lacked Miller's testimony to wrap up his case. While the grand jury will expire in late October, Fitzgerald could have sought a new one and thereby extend Miller's jail time.
Miller has reported extensively on weapons of mass destruction, but she never wrote about Plame. Instead, in July 2003, she had been assigned by The Times to explain why a special military unit she had accompanied to Iraq failed to find evidence of weapons of mass destruction there. The Times later apologized for some of the articles she wrote on the topic. But Miller and her editors asserted First Amendment principles should protect her from having to testify. Back in July, Times' executive editor Bill Keller condemned Fitzgerald, who would not reveal much of his evidence publicly, for damaging the watchdog role of the press by interfering with its relationship with sources.
Mr. KELLER: Anybody who believes that the government and other powerful institutions should be closely and aggressively watched should feel a chill up their spine today.
FOLKENFLIK: But federal judges did not recognize a legal basis for her claim, so Miller's deal seemingly lands her where Time magazine's Matthew Cooper found himself back in July. President Bush had long ago ordered all White House staffers to release reporters from any promises of confidentiality in the matter. Some journalists say any such waivers were coerced, but several other reporters, including Cooper, had already told Fitzgerald of their conversations with Libby. In July, just before Cooper would have been sentenced to jail for failing to name a second source, deputy White House chief of staff Karl Rove grudgingly gave Cooper explicit approval to talk to Fitzgerald about their conversation. Yesterday Miller said in her statement, quote, "It's good to be free." The Times expressed support for the deal Miller struck to get out of jail, as it has stood by her during her 85-day incarceration.
David Folkenflik, NPR News, Washington.
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