Judith Miller

The judge makes a great point:

(Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan) said Miller was mistaken in her belief that she was defending a free press. He stressed that the government source she "alleges she is protecting" had already waived her promise of confidentiality. He said her source may have been providing information not to shed light on government secrets but to try to discredit an administration critic."This is not a case of a whistle-blower" revealing secret information to Miller about "dangers at a nuclear power plant," Hogan said. "It's a case in which the information she was given and her potential use of it was a crime. . . . This is very different than a whistle-blower outing government misconduct."

Karl Rove (assuming it was him) wasn't doing anything more noble or righteous than engaging in a personal attack against Joe Wilson and his wife. He violated federal law for the purpose of political payback.

So, if a serial killer phones up a reporter, gives his name and address, and says he is about to claim another victim, that reporter can't be expected to divulge his source? I don't think the courts have ever acknowledged that level of professional confidentiality, not even for doctors or lawyers.

Plus, Judith Miller is certainly no paragon of journalistic integrity.