Bullies are at it again

Saturday, May 27, 2006 | 7:39 a.m.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has ominously suggested that the government could prosecute the media for reporting classified information.

"There are some statutes on the book which, if you read the language carefully, would seem to indicate that that is a possibility," Gonzales said Sunday on ABC's "This Week." Gonzales rationalized the alarming comment: "We have an obligation to enforce those laws. We have an obligation to ensure that our national security is protected."

But the fact of the matter is that this is another outrageous example of Bush officials attempting to intimidate the media and throw a heavy blanket of secrecy over the White House, all in the name of 9/11.

It is true Congress has long since passed espionage laws that aim to keep truly sensitive information secret, but the laws have never been used to prosecute journalists. Part of what has made this nation a strong, free and democratic society is a watchdog press that is protected by the First Amendment.

The media have a long history of exposing government abuses and the Supreme Court has a record of protecting press rights. In a landmark decision, the high court protected the media's right to publish the Pentagon Papers, after the Nixon administration tried to use the courts to stop the publication, believing it would hurt its Vietnam War effort and expose embarrassing secrets.

In the past year stories have exposed secret foreign-based CIA prisons and the Bush administration's warrantless wire-tapping program. USA Today recently disclosed that the National Security Agency is collecting phone records of millions of Americans.

So the timing of Gonzales' comments were not surprising as the media continue to uncover secrets, angering White House officials because the secrets are difficult to justify and unpopular with the public - not because they are vital to national security.

Gonzales' threat was either pathetic bully posturing, or a chilling reminder that the Bush administration would stop at nothing to hide secrets. It may have been both. We understand the need to protect national security. But Gonzales' comments weren't about that. This administration believes that its politically motivated leaks are OK, but the publication of questionable conduct by the White House may be deserving of criminal prosecution .