Looney Liberal of the Week: Bill Keller

NEW YORK, NY -- This week's award goes to... well you guessed it, Bill Keller, Executive Editor of the New York Times. You've all heard the story or read about it, so I won't bore you with the details of how this arrogant, dangerous fanatic, in his hatred of the Bush administration decided to assume the responsibilities of the President by declassifying the formerly top secret Terrorist Finance Tracking Program.

And Bill Keller doesn't earn this award lightly. He faced stiff competition this week from five Supreme Court judges and their decision on the Hamdan case. Unless we get a loonier lib next week, those judges may be next week's retroactive award winners!

Calls for the prosecution of Keller and/or the New York Times have been scorching the Internet. Although George W. Bush sounded angry in his denunciation of this classified program being leaked, the silence from the administration since then has been deafening. Keller and the NYT have clearly violated the Espionage Act of 1917 and other laws. I have quoted Section 798 of Title 18 of the Espionage Act of 1917 here for your edification...

§798. Disclosure of Classified Information.

(a) Whoever knowingly and willfully communicates, furnishes, transmits, or otherwise makes available to an unauthorized person, or publishes, or uses in any manner prejudicial to the safety or interest of the United States or for the benefit of any foreign government to the detriment of the United States any classified information—

(1) concerning the nature, preparation, or use of any code, cipher, or cryptographic system of the United States or any foreign government; or

(2) concerning the design, construction, use, maintenance, or repair of any device, apparatus, or appliance used or prepared or planned for use by the United States or any foreign government for cryptographic or communication intelligence purposes; or

(3) concerning the communication intelligence activities of the United States or any foreign government; or

(4) obtained by the processes of communication intelligence from the communications of any foreign government, knowing the same to have been obtained by such processes—

Shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.

(b) As used in this subsection (a) of this section—

The term “classified information” means information which, at the time of a violation of this section, is, for reasons of national security, specifically designated by a United States Government Agency for limited or restricted dissemination or distribution;

The terms “code,” “cipher,” and “cryptographic system” include in their meanings, in addition to their usual meanings, any method of secret writing and any mechanical or electrical device or method used for the purpose of disguising or concealing the contents, significance, or meanings of communications;

The term “foreign government” includes in its meaning any person or persons acting or purporting to act for or on behalf of any faction, party, department, agency, bureau, or military force of or within a foreign country, or for or on behalf of any government or any person or persons purporting to act as a government within a foreign country, whether or not such government is recognized by the United States;

The term “communication intelligence” means all procedures and methods used in the interception of communications and the obtaining of information from such communications by other than the intended recipients;

The term “unauthorized person” means any person who, or agency which, is not authorized to receive information of the categories set forth in subsection (a) of this section, by the President, or by the head of a department or agency of the United States Government which is expressly designated by the President to engage in communication intelligence activities for the United States.