Media Matters for America summary, April 08, 2007
 
Date: Sun, 08 Apr 2007 22:03:03 -0400


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<p>Here are today's news items from <i>Media Matters for America</i>, 
click on the title or 'read more' to read the entirety of each story.</p>
<h1><a href="http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/propaganda_noise_machine?src=other">Propaganda/Noise Machine</a></h1>
<p><b><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200704080001?src=other"><em>WSJ</em> op-ed attacking Pelosi baselessly asserts she may have committed a felony</a></b><br />
In an April 6 <i><i>Wall Street Journal</i></i> <a href="http://mediamatters.org//rd?http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110009908" target="_new" title="This external link will open in a new window">op-ed</a> touted on the Drudge Report and by
NBC&#39;s Matt Lauer, attorney Robert F. Turner asserted that House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) "may well have" violated a federal criminal law, the
Logan Act, when she met with Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad on April 3. But at no point
did Turner note that the issue of whether a member of Congress has violated the
Logan Act has never been adjudicated by a court. Nor did he inform readers of a
1975 State Department statement -- noted in a February 1, 2006, <a href="http://mediamatters.org//rd?http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/61050.pdf" target="_new" title="This
external link will open in a new window">report</a> on the Logan Act
by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) -- that <a href="http://mediamatters.org//rd?http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/61050.pdf#page=12" target="_new" title="This external link will open in a new window">states</a>: "The
clear intent of this provision ... is to prohibit unauthorized persons from intervening in disputes
between the United States and foreign governments. Nothing in [the Logan
Act], however, would appear to restrict members of the Congress from engaging
in discussions with foreign officials in pursuance of their legislative duties
under the Constitution." Turner purported to know the scope of a member
of Congress&#39; legislative duties for purposes of the Logan Act, and to
know that Pelosi has acted outside that scope. But he cited no judicial
authority for that specific position -- nor could he, since there are no court decisions interpreting
that statute as it may apply to actions by members of Congress.
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200704080001?src=other" class="read">Read more</a></p>




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