By guest host Anthony Brooks:

The New York Times’ decision to run a story about a secret government program to track international terrorist finances has sparked a noisy debate about national security, and the responsibilities — and rights — of a free press.

Conservative bloggers and commentators accuse the Times of “treason.” President Bush calls the decision to publish “disgraceful.” And at least one Republican Congressman says the Times should be prosecuted.

At issue are revelations by the paper about a far-reaching program to probe thousands of international wire transfers without a court order. The Bush administration says the program is legal. But some legal experts aren’t so sure, and critics call it part of a disturbing pattern of this President’s administration to reach beyond constitutional checks and balances.

Hear about the secret war on terror versus the public’s right to know.

Guests:

Gabriel Sherman, Media Reporter for the New York Observer

Eric Lichtblau, pulitzer-prize winning reporter for The New York Times, co-author of the June 23rd article which revealed the government’s international finance tracking

Marvin Kalb, Senior Fellow at the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University

Roger Cressey , President
Good Harbor Consulting LLC, November 1999 to November 2001, served as Director for Transnational Threats for the National Security Council

Heather Mac Donald, John M. Olin fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a Contributing Editor to City Journal