Rep. Peter King Takes On the NY Times

US Representative Peter King (R-NY) said Sunday that he thinks that the New York Times should be prosecuted for its recent publication of classified information regarding how the US Government tracks money that is being used to support terrorism. I agree. If any private citizen disclosed that information, they would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Freedom of the press is a cherished American value, but it does not give journalists the right to break the law whenever they feel like it. If any journalist thinks that they should be immune from US law, then they should leave the country. Otherwise, they should be subject to the same standards as the rest of us. Likewise, any journalist who claims that unbiased nature of their profession prevents them from taking national security into consideration before releasing information should relinquish their US citizenship. If a reporter wishes to have the privileges of being a citizen, then he must also take on the responsibilities of being a citizen.

I'm sure that someone reading this will accuse me of suggesting that the press should be censored, but nothing is further from the truth. The press should be free to print anything it wishes as long as it does not present a clear and present danger (which is the accepted standard for free speech), and I think that you would be hard pressed to find anyone who asserts that making top-secret information available to our enemies does not present a clear and present danger! And yes, I do think that terrorists who blow up our buildings, behead our citizens, and mutilate the bodies of our soldiers qualify as "enemies" of this country! Usually, making classified information available to people who are engaged in a war against our country falls under the category of treason, and I see know reason why it should be defined otherwise simply because the culprit happens to be the New York Times.

Tags: Peter King, NY Times, New York Times, Politics, Media, Mainstream Media, Main Stream Media, Media Bias, MSM