If journalists break the law in order to expose weaknesses in national security, should they be prosecuted? That's the question on the table of federal prosecutors, after an ABC News team successfully shipped a package of depleted uranium from Jakarta to Los Angeles. ABC says the package could have just as easily contained a bomb, and justifies the stunt as a legitimate test of American port security. But Homeland Security Department spokesman Dennis Murphy tells Brooke that noble intent does not justify crime, even by journalists.
After a summer of intensely scrutinizing the Bush Administration's selling of the war in Iraq, many media outlets seem to be backing off. But not the Washington Post. More and more, the paper that expressed editorial sympathy for the war has relentlessly pursued government misrepresentations of the Iraqi threat. Bob talks to Washington Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie.
This week, President Bush defended the decision to classify 28 pages in the Congressional report on 9/11, despite requests from several members of Congress to release the deleted portion. This follows efforts in the past few weeks from Democrats in Congress to begin demanding more information from the notoriously secretive administration. Scott Armstrong is founder of the National Security Archive. He tells Brooke Congress should already have access to the information that was requested.
White House Spokesman Ari Fleischer announced his resignation this week, after more than two years at the podium in loyal service to the President. He has weathered major events such as the 2000 election, 9/11, and the Iraq war. But among the press corps, few will miss his obfuscating style and bullying tactics. Slate columnist Tim Noah reviews Fleischer's tenure with Brooke.
One of Ari's acrimonious relationships among the gaggle (there were many) has been with reporter Russell Mokhiber. The correspondent for Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Crime Reporter has made a sport out of asking questions that few other reporters would dare to, and Fleischer has responded in kind. Mokhiber tells Brooke about the experience of being on Ari's blacklist.
When President Bush tail-hooked onto the deck of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, critics railed against what they saw as an expensive stunt for promoting the President's image. But among those who were not surprised was New York Times White House reporter Elizabeth Bumiller, who has been observing similar grandiosity for years. She chronicles for Bob some the greatest hits of the Bush P.R. machine. .
The government's war on terrorism has left plenty of collateral damage in its wake, especially when it comes to Americans' basic freedoms. So far, it seems that citizens are willing to sacrifice some civil liberties in exchange for national security. But as Bob examines the trade-offs that have already been made, he finds that much of the damage is invisible, and potentially more far-reaching than many think.
Each morning, White House officials dial up fellow war planners in London and Qatar. The purpose of the conference call is to issue the Administration's official media message of the day. Terms are specified, and stories are outlined. Chicago Tribune reporter Bob Kemper joins Brooke to review the accomplishments of the White House's latest P.R. project - the Office of Global Communications.
