Judith Miller Quotes (46 Quotes)

This has called into question the judgment of the newspaper that I rely on.

My interview notes show that Mr. Libby sought from the beginning, before Mr. Wilson's name became public, to insulate his boss from Mr. Wilson's charges,

The New York Times and Miller decided not to try to finesse the issue. Instead, they opted for what the Times editorially has described as an act of civil disobedience, ... To be frank, this is far from an ideal case. We would not have wanted our reporter to give up her liberty over a situation whose details are so complicated and muddy.

I'm waiting to see like everybody else what he produces. But if he doesn't have anything, I will wonder about why I had to spend 85 days in jail.

I am free only because my source, my one confidential source, wrote me a personal letter and called me in jail to let me know that he really, really wanted me to testify,

I am hopeful that my very long stay in jail will serve to strengthen the bond between reporters and their sources.

The answer is obvious Judith Miller emerged as a central figure because she MADE herself a central figure and, arguably, BECAUSE she didn't write a story about the case. ... David, I heard from another member of your fan club that things went well for you today. Hope it's true, J.

The sources confidence that we will not divulge his identity is crucial to his or her readiness to come to us with allegations of fraud or abuse or other wrongdoing or even a dissenting view about government policy or business practices that the American people may need to know.

It's good to be free. I went to jail to preserve the time-honored principle that a journalist must respect a promise not to reveal the identity of a confidential source. . . . I am leaving jail today because my source has now voluntarily and personally released me from my promise of confidentiality regarding our conversations relating to the Wilson-Plame matter.

I was a journalist doing my job, protecting my source until my source freed me to perform my civic duty to testify.

Because I had become part of the story. I had actually become part of the news, and that's something no New York Times reporter wants to do.

You can't be as much in the news as I am and go on with reporting as usual.

It's good to be free. I am leaving jail today because my source has now voluntarily and personally released me from my promise of confidentiality regarding our conversations.

I went to jail to preserve the time-honored principle that a journalist must respect a promise not to reveal the identity of a confidential source. The principle was more important to uphold than my personal freedom.

I am free today only because of a federal prosecutor's agreement to limit his questions to me and because my once-confidential source wrote me a letter and called me in jail to say he really, really wanted me to testify.

I did not go to jail to protect wrongdoing. I did not go to jail to get a large book contract or to martyr myself. Anyone who thinks I would spend 85 days in jail as a canny career move knows nothing about jail and nothing about me.

Let's wait and see what Mr. Fitzgerald has. If he brings indictments, if he has a very serious case, then I might have to say that perhaps his zealousness with respect to this mission was justified,

I recall that Mr. Libby was displeased with what he described as 'selective leaking' by the CIA. He told me that the agency was engaged in a 'hedging strategy' to protect itself in case no weapons were found in Iraq.

Mr. Fitzgerald asked if I had discussed classified information with Mr. Libby. I said I believe so, but could not be sure.

I said I believed the information came from another source, whom I could not recall,

I have chosen to resign because over the last few months, I have become the news, something a New York Times reporter never wants to be,

My notes contain a phrase inside parentheses 'Wife works at Winpac.' Mr. Fitzgerald asked what that meant.

We are only as good as our sources, ... If they are mistaken, we will be wrong. And a source's confidence that we will not divulge their identity is crucial to his or her readiness to come to us with allegations of fraud, or abuse or other wrongdoing.

I was unaware that there was a deliberate, concerted disinformation campaign to discredit Wilson and that if there had been, I did not think I was a target of it.

Although I was interested primarily in my area of expertise - chemical and biological weapons - my notes show that Mr. Libby consistently steered our conversation back to the administration's nuclear claims.

I heard directly from my source that I should testify before the grand jury,

I told Mr. Fitzgerald that Mr. Libby might have thought I still had security clearance, given my special embedded status in Iraq.

the problems facing her inside and outside the newsroom will make it difficult for her to return to the paper as a reporter.

Believe me, I did not want to be in jail. But I would have stayed even longer.

Those who need anonymity are not only the poor and the powerless, those whose lives or jobs might be in jeopardy if they speak up publicly, but even the powerful, ... All are entitled to anonymity if they are telling the truth and have something of importance to say to the American people.

regarding the nature and scope of my testimony, which satisfies my obligation as a reporter to keep faith with my sources.

If a journalist cannot be trusted to guarantee confidentiality, the journalist cannot function and there cannot be a free press. The freest and fairest societies are not only those with independent judiciaries, but those with an independent press that works every day to keep government accountable by publishing what the government might not want the public to know.

This was the first time I had been told that Mr. Wilson's wife might work for the CIA, ... it wasn't that important to me. I was focused on the main question Was our WMD intelligence slanted

There is a full-scale assault by the federal government now on journalists in order to get at people who disclose classified information.

He was pressing about what you would say. When I wouldn't give him an assurance that you would exonerate Libby, if you were to cooperate, he then immediately gave me this, 'Don't go there,' or, 'We don't want you there.'

W.M.D. -- I got it totally wrong. The analysts, the experts and the journalists who covered them -- we were all wrong. If your sources are wrong, you are wrong.

We had asked the special counsel over a year ago would he narrow his investigation to the source of his interest, the subject of interest he wouldn't do it then.

pressed Mr. Libby to discuss additional information that was in the more detailed, classified version of the estimate.

a serious violation of international law, a dangerous precedent. The United States has sent a very bad signal to the rest of the world.

I served 85 days in jail because of my belief in the importance of upholding the confidential relationship that journalists have with their sources.

I am also hopeful that my time in jail will help pass a federal shield law so that the public's right to know can be protected.

More than two dozen reporters have been subpoenaed in the past two years and are in danger of going to jail. If the current trend prevails, the Alexandria Detention Facility may have to open an entire new wing to house reporters.

I agreed to the new ground rules because I knew that Mr. Libby had once worked on Capitol Hill. I assumed Mr. Libby did not want the White House to be seen as attacking Mr. Wilson.

Miller's lawyer, Matthew Mallow, told CNN the war of words was trivial compared to his client's devotion to the First Amendment. That's what Judy did with great courage, spending 85 days in jail. That is lost in all of the discussions of the internal workings of the paper, ... on an amicable basis.

The Times report said the newspaper's reputation has suffered. Neither The Times nor its cause has emerged unbruised. ... Even as the paper asked for the public's support, it was unable to answer its questions. ... The entire thing.

Notice how it affects what the New York Times, a great institution, can tell the public, and yet Judy's decision was hers personal when she made it (her conditions weren't met), personal when she changed it (her conditions were met.) That's what I mean by Miller's Times.