Down to the Fourth Estate

By Jonathan Turley

Finally, what Congress hasn't done, the news media has — at least until the fullness of voices is silenced once again.

This month, Congress is faced with a most inconvenient crime. With the recent disclosure of a massive secret database program run by the National Security Agency involving tens of millions of innocent Americans, members are confronted with a second intelligence operation that not only lacks congressional authorization but also appears patently unlawful. In December, the public learned that the NSA was engaging in warrantless domestic surveillance of overseas communications — an operation many experts believe is a clear federal crime ordered by George W. Bush more than 30 times.

What is most striking about these programs is that they were revealed not by members of Congress but by members of the Fourth Estate: journalists who confronted Congress with evidence of potentially illegal conduct by Bush that was known to various congressional leaders.

Let’s Hear It For The Fourth Estate!

Now, it appears Congress is finally acting — not to end alleged criminal acts by the administration, mind you, but to stop the public from learning about such alleged crimes in the future! Members are seeking to give Bush the authority to continue to engage in warrantless domestic surveillance as they call for whistleblowers to be routed out. They also want new penalties to deter both reporters and their sources.

The Framers of the law of our land gave us a free press as the final safety net if all other checks and balances in the three branches of government should fail. With the failure of both parties in Congress to exercise oversight responsibilities, the importance of a free press has been vividly demonstrated. The public now has a choice. It can live in self-imposed ignorance, or it can fight for an open society. Not hearing about alleged crimes by your government is certainly a comfort, but not having crimes occur would be an even greater one.

Jonathan Turley is a law professor at George Washington University who has testified before Congress on both the NSA's surveillance operations.