Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Did Joseph Wilson commit a crime?
Steve Antler offers the fascinating theory that Joseph Wilson may himself have committed a crime. Antler examines 18 U.S.C. 793(d), which provides as follows:
Antler's theory:
Is Fitzgerald investigating Wilson? I doubt it, but one can still dream.
Whoever, lawfully having possession of, access to, control over, or being entrusted with any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, or note relating to the national defense, or information relating to the national defense which information the possessor has reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation, willfully communicates, delivers, transmits or causes to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted or attempts to communicate, deliver, transmit or cause to be communicated, delivered or transmitted the same to any person not entitled to receive it, or willfully retains the same and fails to deliver it on demand to the officer or employee of the United States entitled to receive it;
Antler's theory:
Wilson went public ("communicates...to any person not entitled...") with information he legitimately gathered privately under legitimate government auspices ("lawfully having possession of"...). His aim was to weaken the administration's credibility, which had as its consequence the weakening of the United States' credibility internationally ("to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation..." Indeed, this weakened international credibility became one the center features of the Kerry campaign, which Wilson subsequently joined.) (emphasis in the original)
Is Fitzgerald investigating Wilson? I doubt it, but one can still dream.
2 Comments:
By 
Gordon Smith, at
Tue Jul 19, 02:16:00 PM:
That's some interesting legal contortionism. By that argument, any information that proved the administration lied or did anything less than virtuous would prosecutable. Just what the founding fathers had in mind.
By TigerHawk, at
Tue Jul 19, 02:29:00 PM:
Screwy, I'm not sure how I would feel about such a prosecution being brought in the abstract, but Joe Wilson is such an unreconstructed weasel that I would absolutely find it entertaining if it turned out that Fitzgerald were investigating him.
