The press responds (sort of)

It took the NY Times three days to figure out what to say about Alberto Gonzales' threat to persecute prosecute the NY Times and its reporters for publishing the leaks about the NSA spying program. They decided to laugh it off as absurd. Ridicule is fine, but I'm afraid this is serious stuff.

It's hard to say which was more bizarre about Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's threat to prosecute The Times for revealing President Bush's domestic spying program: his claim that a century-old espionage law could be used to muzzle the press or his assertion that the administration cares about enforcing laws the way Congress intended.

It's a bit curious that, while it took them three days to respond to Gonzales, they were right on top of the FBI break-in to Jefferson's office within less than a day even though their position on the issue is a bit unclear from their editorial.