Open Journalism NorthWet

A United States federal grand jury has issued a subpoena against Jim Risen, the New York Times journalist whose research for his book, State of War, broke the story about warrantless wiretapping of the American telephone system. In a New York Times article dated February 1, 2008, Risen's lawyer is cited as saying the subpoena sought the identity of the confidential source claiming that the United States CIA attempted unsuccessfully to penetrate Iran's nuclear program beginning in the Clinton administration.

The book was published in 2006, as was the Pulitzer prize-winning article by Rizen and his Times colleague Eric Lichtblau breaking the story of the wiretaps. The subpoena comes at a time when the fate of further such wiretaps, and communications companies' immunity for same, hangs in the balance in the United States Senate.

Much more information, backstory, and links can be found in Glenn Greenwald's Salon column on the subject. Your correspondent felt it important not to waste keystrokes getting this news out.

If jailed, Risen will be the second prominent American journalist to suffer that fate during the current administration; the other, Judy Miller, spent nearly three months in federal detention during the height of the Valerie Plame affair, and eventually exposed her source.

This was first reported last week, and promptly got buried. Your correspondent things it needs to be unearthed again, if for no other reason to subject it to the crucible of debate, "in order to form a more perfect Union," as it were.

The Lakota nation has seceded from the United States. According to this article, they've been planning to do so since 1974. They have written an outline for a constitution, based in Lakota spirituality. The form of government is quasi-parlimentary; there is to be a house of chiefs and headmen, and a house of commons. The executive committee is to be formed from four of the former, and three of the latter.

I will note that neither article quotes any US government official. No word as to whether said government officials had any trouble with sand in their hair the next day.

Many, many more links here, which is where I was originally pointed at the story.

(For those who are wondering and haven't clicked on the constitution link above, "Wolakota" is the Lakota way of life, which is a spiritual path. The Lakota are colloquially known as Sioux; your correspondent tends towards calling people what they call themselves, modulo linguistic difficulties.)