November 11, 2005
To the Editor:
On July 6, I chose to go to jail to resurrect my flagging career and protect a criminal cabal that tricked the country into war by using false information. My decision was defended in the Times in 15 separate editorials extolling my willingness to obstruct a grand jury investigation in the outing of a CIA agent. I successfully hid behind the 1st amendment, even though the law clearly allows no such exception, and I protected high ranking officials who endangered national security by passing along classified information to the press. I chose to go to jail rather than expose a criminal conspiracy of which I was a vital part, and to attract the sympathy of those who were confused by the details of the case.
After 85 days, more than twice as long as any other American journalist has ever spent in jail for this cause, I caved in and agreed to testify before the special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald's grand jury about my conversations with my source, I. Lewis Libby Jr. I did this when I realized that public opinion was almost unanimously against me, and when I discovered that my time in jail could be extended indefinitely. As one might expect, I had to invent an explanation for why I compromised my values and "ratted" out a source in the White House. With the assistance of my attorney I was able to craft a muddled justification for my personal cowardice which was reinforced by an editorial in "the paper of record". If I had failed to come up with a credible excuse, I would still be in prison today. Many of my colleagues disapproved of my decision, dismissing it as unprincipled and self-serving. For me, however, the choice was quite simple since there was no longer any opportunity for personal gain and since prison turned out to be more difficult than I had imagined.
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