Why didn Robert Novak also go to jail?
Novak isn’t talking publicly about his role. He says he wasn’t subpoenaed for the inquiry. But it is widely believed he has already testified voluntarily before the grand jury or otherwise collaborated with Fitzgerald’s investigation. Is there a precedent for journalists to refuse to testify or provide information? The Times has repeatedly refused to divulge information to government authorities — going back to 1857, when a reporter was held in contempt by the U.S. House of Representatives for refusing to identify his sources in reporting on bribery in Congress. (The corrupt lawmakers resigned.) In 1978, the Times’ M.A. Farber spent 40 days in jail for refusing to hand over his notes to the lawyer for a doctor charged after suspicious deaths uncovered by the reporter. Other reporters have been jailed as well. And what’s at stake for the Bush administration? Rove is the president’s top political adviser and he’s clearly in the hot seat at the moment. But so too is Libby, who has a broad
