Tony Snow: NY Times May Be Overriding "Somebody's Right To Live"...

Editor and Publisher June 26, 2006 at 04:17 PM
READ MORE: New York Times, Halliburton, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney

Over the weekend, Vice President Cheney stated that The New York Times scoop (shared with the Los Angeles Times and Wall Street Journal) on bank records surveillance offended him. A leading Republican called for a criminal probe. President Bush today termed it "disgraceful."

The National Review asked the White House to revoke the newspaper's press credentials. Now Press Secretary Tony Snow has aimed another volley across the bow of The New York Times, while suggesting that First Amendment rights would still be respected.

Here is the relevant portion of today's press briefing.

*SNOW: With that kind of demonstrated efficacy, the question is why on earth make the editorial decision that this program no longer should be effective by exposing it? And that, I think, is the kind of thing that has the President concerned. But I'm going to defer any question about, sort of, legal dispensations until later.

Q He referred to "the" newspaper, "a" newspaper -- is he talking about one newspaper, in particular, or is talking about the three newspapers?

READ WHOLE STORY