On Wednesday, Professor Geoffrey Stone delivered a Chicago's Best Ideas talk with the title of "Government Secrecy v. Freedom of the Press." Professor Stone described the talk as follows:
"After the New York Times disclosed that President Bush had secretly authorized the National Security Agency to intercept international electronic communications, the Attorney General, other members of the Bush administration, and several members of Congress suggested that the United States might criminally prosecute the New York Times for publishing classified national security information. In what circumstances, may the United States constitutionally prosecute public officials, reporters, and publishers for the disclosure and dissemination of classified information?"
Listen to the talk to hear Professor Stone explain why what looks like a balancing test isn't always a balancing test and why this talk is about so much more than the Pentagon Papers.