Be Careful What You Ask For

It wasn't supposed to be this way. The New York Times et al thought they had the Bush Administration by the short and curlies over this bogus Valerie Plame affair. But, it's journalists who are getting jugged.

Wednesday, February 23, 2005 12:01 a.m. EST


"After an egregiously long delay, Attorney General John Ashcroft finally did the right thing yesterday when he recused himself from the investigation into who gave the name of a CIA operative to the columnist Robert Novak. Mr. Ashcroft turned the inquiry over to his deputy, who quickly appointed a special counsel."

In the recent annals of press freedom, there are few more regrettable sentences than those two from a December 31, 2003, editorial in the New York Times.