Nick Kristof, Inmate No. 5433297

Speaking of Saint Fucking-Miller, wouldn't it be a hoot if Nick Kristof refused to testify in the civil suit against him and got sent to the same facility as Ms. Miller?

Two years ago, Dr. Hatfill sued the bureau and the Justice Department, saying leaks to the news media about him and the public description of him by Attorney General John Ashcroft as a "person of interest" in the case had destroyed his reputation.

He also has a suit pending against The New York Times and a columnist for the paper, Nicholas D. Kristof, saying Mr. Kristof defamed him.

This summer, Judge Reggie B. Walton, of Federal District Court in Washington, let Dr. Hatfill's lawyers begin questioning people about the reported leaks. According to a lawyer for Dr. Hatfill, Thomas G. Connolly, among the six people who have been deposed so far are Mr. Lambert, the top investigator; Brad Garrett, another longtime agent; and Ms. Weierman, the spokeswoman.

Ah, the sweet aroma of grilled Pistof. Smells like a burning rug.

Let the interrogation begin.

And it certainly can happen in the context of a civil case:

Dan Kennedy, an assistant journalism professor at Northeastern University in Boston noted that in the past, cases involving the revealing of confidential sources usually involved criminal or national security proceedings, but the Apple case is part of a frightening new trend.

"What's scary about the Apple case," he told MacNewsWorld, "is that reporters are being dragged into court and being told to give up their sources to help one or another party in a civil suit. That is a far bigger threat than something like the Judith Miller case."

Ooooh... scary!

In Pistof's case, he is a party to the civil case, which makes it all the more appropriate to jail him if he refuses to answer questions under oath. As could happen to anyone else who refused to comply with an order to testify.

Of course, I'm assuming that little Nicky isn't champing at the bit to testify. He seems like the sort you can't get to shut up, if the subject is himself.