The Plot Against the First Amendment
Harpers has some thoughts on the subject.
In the summer of 2005, Alberto Gonzales paid a visit to British Attorney General Peter Goldsmith. A British civil servant who attended told me "it was quite amazing really. Gonzales was obsessed with the Official Secrets Act. In particular, he wanted to know exactly how it was used to block newspapers and broadcasters from running news stories derived from official secrets and how it could be used to criminalise persons who had no formal duty to maintain secrets. He saw it as a panacea for his problems: silence the press. Then you can torture and abuse prisoners and what you will—without fear of political repercussions. It was the easy route to dealing with the Guantánamo dilemma. Don't close down Guantánamo. Close down the press. We were appalled by it." Appalled, he added, "but not surprised."
3 comments:
I've been mulling this one all day and I conclude that I find this hard to believe on several merits.
I can understand Gonzales asking about the role the Official Secrecy Act in Britain plays with the freedom of the press.
But I find it hard to believe him openly discussing ways to close down the press with members of a foreign political party that has been pretty hostile to Bush - Blair excepted.
Even if this concept was in his thoughts there is just no way he would discuss them.
To me, that's the point this flies south - it violates any kind of common sense when you really think about it.
I agree with you Gonz, it's hard to believe, but I don't give him the credit for understanding how outrageous it would be to talk about it. I think he's totally capable of being that stupid.
Nothing in his resume indicates he's stupid.
And, hell, we all know lawyers. They ask questions but rarely divulge information as to why they are asking.
Post a Comment