Cheney and the First Amendment

I stumbled across a fascinating account on Slate of how Vice President Dick Cheney should wrap himself in the First Amendment in order to defend himself from the lawsuit filed recently by former ambassador Joseph Wilson and Valerie Plame Wilson, the former covert CIA agent whose identity Cheney apparently disclosed to the press. The Wilsons claim Cheney led a campaign to "out" Plame Wilson in order to get back at Ambassador Wilson for his criticism in an opinion piece in The New York Times in 2003.

Honestly, this article is a very interesting legal argument about how Cheney could defend himself and bolster the First Amendment at the same time, a thought I find shocking given this administration's apparent regard for our fundamental freedoms. Nonetheless, I do think the Wilsons have a weak case, one that could actually hurt the First Amendment and the ability of public officials to disclose information to reporters. It's worth reading.

-- Wenatchee, Wash.