Jack Kelley has a great piece out today at RCP which discusses how this summer it will be the investigation of rogue personnel in the US government who have leaked critical information to our enemies through our press that provides the spectacle and the splash:

After all the cheerleading journalists have done for Mr. Fitzgerald, it would be ironic if he were remembered most for handing prosecutors the weapon they used against journalists to shut down the leaks on which journalists depend.

Ironic indeed.  Fitsgerald seems uniquely qualified in the art of screwing up backwards.  But the meat of the article, to me, is this:

The Bush administration disagrees. Investigations into the NSA and “secret prisons” leaks are nearing completion. A senior CIA official has been fired for leaking, and, reportedly, is singing like a canary to avoid prosecution. The FBI knows who’s been talking to journalists, ABC’s Brian Ross said a source told him.

Journalists can be prosecuted for publishing classified information, Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez said on ABC’s “This Week” program Sunday.

I doubt journalists will be charged under the Espionage Act, but I do expect vigorous application of the precedent Mr. Fitzgerald set when he jailed Ms. Miller. Reporters who have published or broadcast classified information can expect subpoenas, and can expect to cool their heels in the pokey until they disclose who leaked to them.

The media is going to have a very humbling experience this summer.  For decades they used their monopoly of the communications infrastructure to lay unsubstantiated claims against people and watch them go through the legal process of trying to clear their name as much as possible.  When the internet came along, and the bloggers were created, the media first was challenged to get its facts straight (something they still struggle to do).

The media cannot compete against thousands independent minds who have much more insight (and sometimes connections) as to what is going on in government regarding these issues.  Their journalism schooled reporters are outgunned as badly as the Taliban was against the US armed forces.  The blogger community is a powerful force when applied, as was well demonstrated with RatherGate.

But when the media tried to take it to the next level, and dove with the liberal fanatics into the Kool Aid of leaking national security secrets – secrets which were meant to detect and stop terrorist attacks on our soil – they ran head long into the next level of opposition.  Thankfully, myopic zealots like Fitzgerald have given the country the tools it needs to take this conflict into the courts (the last bastion of liberal defense).

Even if the Department of Justice doesn’t go after the media, private groups just might.  I am watching efforts by readers of Just One Minute to begin a complaint against Fitzgerald’s prosecutorial misconduct.  We shall see if he is truly under DoJ control or not.  There is no way for DoJ not to investigate Fitzgerald if they want to retain the charade he is not running open loop and, essentially, violating the constitution.

So let the next stage begin.  Lliberals want to play this game – fine.  Those of who expected them to regain some sanity and composure are now coming to the realization it will never happen.  So why hold back?