Demagogue

The conservative Indiana AG continues his quest for private abortion-related medical records in the guise of law enforcement. A tip-off that the stated ground is pretextual: he's supposedly investigating compliance with a law requiring the reporting of child abuse, but he's doing it with the Medicaid Fraud Unit.

I've previously blogged extensively on the legal issues surrounding the Intimigate special prosecutor's demand that reporters testify about who leaked Valerie Plame's identity and occupation, with particular reference to a Rhode Island case with somewhat similar facts. In that case, a defense lawyer leaked a videotape to a TV reporter in violation of a confidentiality order (the tape showed an aide to the mayor taking a bribe). The reporter ended up getting convicted of criminal contempt for refusign to reveal the leaker's identity. Eventually, the lawyer fessed up; now he's agreed to plead guilty to contempt and perjury (for denying under oath that he was the leaker). It turns out, by the way, that the reporter did not end up going to prison, as had seemed likely last November when he was convicted of contempt. Instead, he served his 4-month sentence under house arrest, which was probably a good idea not only for the obvious reasons but also because he has significant health problems.