But reports from within the Times about growing discontent about the Miller case and the paper's handling of it are in sharp contrast to how executive editor Bill Keller sees the situation. Responding via e-mail to submitted questions from Salon, Keller disputed reports that the case had drawn a lot of internal dissent. "A lot of things that are 'reportedly' true about this case and the newsroom reaction are either flat wrong or grossly inflated," he stated. "I think the prevailing sense in the newsroom -- regardless of what feelings individual reporters have about Judy and her past work -- is that they are glad the paper is standing up for her and defending the principle of reporters' need to protect their sources."

Other editors also contend that they have not heard internal discord. "If any member of the staff dissatisfied about our internal communication approached me, I would try to get some answers, within the limits of our necessary protection of sources, of course," assistant managing editor Allan Siegal said in a statement. "But no staff member has expressed that frustration to me." Whitney offered a similar view, saying, "I am unaware of any undercurrent of discontent."

Keller said he understood the staff concerns, but remains somewhat limited in what he can tell them due to the investigation and the involvement of a confidential source. "Believe me, I would like nothing better than to tell our staff whatever I know about this case. But we have a colleague who has been in jail for more than a month, and I'd need an awfully compelling reason to divulge information that could in any way complicate her situation further," Keller wrote. "I've talked about this case a lot -- in public, in interviews with various news organizations, and more privately with members of the staff -- but I have a responsibility to be cautious."

As for the paper's image, Keller remains unconcerned, saying the journalistic principle involved is more important. "It's of course secondary to the question of whether we are doing something we believe in," he said about the paper's image. "We've heard from noisy critics (mostly on the left) who are angry at Judy for earlier coverage, or angry because they suspect her source is someone they don't approve of. But this is not, at bottom, about any one reporter or any one source. It's about a principle. We've heard from others (mostly on the right) who disapprove of anything The Times does. But there's also been a significant outpouring of support for her courage and our steadfastness."

Keller also spoke to the questions surrounding what Miller's assignment was at the time she learned Plame's identity, but declined to spell it out. "While the questions of what Judy knew, and what she was working on, may be matters of general curiosity, the answers don't touch the heart of the case," he claims. "The question of what is going on with the case -- meaning what the special prosecutor is up to, and why he seems to regard Judy as important to the case -- is a mystery to me. It's something I'd like to have answered -- not just for our staff, but for our readers."

The Times has been steadfast in its public support of Miller and persistent in calling for her release. Unlike Time magazine, which handed over the notes and e-mails of its reporter, Matthew Cooper, after he was subpoenaed in the same case, the Times stood behind Miller's defiance of such an order. The Times editorial page on Aug. 8 even took to linking increased harassment of the press in other countries, like Nepal and Burundi, to Miller's incarceration. An Aug. 15 editorial followed with a clear demand that Miller be freed, stating, "If she is not willing to testify after 41 days, then she is not willing to testify."

Miller remains in jail at the Alexandria [Va.] Detention Center. Reports from visitors indicate she is holding up well, but has had some stomach problems related to jail food, misses the Internet and outside contact, and has had to withstand a constant stream of hip-hop videos on the communal television sets. She's had no shortage of visitors, ranging from Keller to Tom Brokaw to Lucy Dalglish of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press to one report of embattled United Nations ambassador-designate John Bolton getting face time with her behind bars.

Observes Times columnist Thomas Friedman, "People really support Judy and this principle." Adds Nagourney, "I hope it works out for her."

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