Free Judy Miller

NYT reported The New York Times reporter Judith Miller has now been in jail longer for refusing to testify than any reporter working for a newspaper in America.

She holds the key to her jail cell. All she has to do is testify, and she will be released immediately.

It is a very long time for her, for her newspaper and for the media. And with each dismal milestone, it becomes more apparent that having her in jail is an embarrassment to a country that is supposed to be revered around the world for its freedoms

She is not a political prisoner; she is in jail for Contempt of Court.

, especially its First Amendment that provides freedom of the press.

it provides for Freedom of the Press, and the NYT was free to print this. It does not place the Press above the law.

Ms. Miller, who went to jail rather than testify in an investigation into the disclosure of an undercover agent's identity, has been in a Virginia jail 55 days as of today.... It's time for the authorities who jailed Ms. Miller to recognize that continued incarceration is not going to sway a reporter who believes she is making a principled sacrifice.

How long should a reporter guilty of Contempt of Court be jailed?

As Jack Nelson, a veteran journalist for The Los Angeles Times, wrote recently: "Without leaks, without anonymity for some sources, a free press loses its ability to act as a check and a balance against the power of government." He cited Watergate, Iran-contra and President Bill Clinton's lies about Monica Lewinsky. If Judith Miller loses this fight, we all lose. This is not about Judith Miller or The Times or the outing of one C.I.A. agent. The jailing of this reporter is about the ability of a free press in America to do its job.

As long as they obey the law

The Left side of the Blogosphere has abandoned Judith because they assume she is protecting someone in the Administration. That may be true, or she may just be protecting her rear, because she may be the one that actaully burned the CIA agent, either intentionally or accidently, and she may figure staying in jail until the Grand Jury goes out of session, and winning points with Journalists for doing it, is better than maybe doing time for something else, and having no one to praise her when she gets out.

Atrios blogged Having Miller on Payroll Is an Embarrassment to NYT - Times turns up the waah machine.

David blogged This editorial sinks to a new level of shamefulness that I cannot bear to put here. It really is simple. Judy, either give up what you know, or rot in jail. This is not some high-minded journalistic principle you are pretending to uphold. The person you are protecting is a criminal. The person you are protecting, is not deserving of protection, and it letting you rot in jail. Apparently only the NY Times is willfully ignoring that fact.