Trust

Trust me when I lie to you: I never go back on a promise and I would never ask you to release me from your promise.

OREM -- A colleague of a New York Times reporter jailed for refusing to reveal a source's identity, said journalists regularly negotiate with anonymous sources about how to reference them in stories.

"In Washington, there are deals that are made at the outset to hearing information, which are very different than deals you make when you publish," said David T. Barstow, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Times reporter who spoke at Utah Valley State College on Wednesday.

Barstow sits in the Times newsroom next to Judith Miller, who was behind bars for 85 days. Barstow said he was not at all surprised when he learned Miller agreed to refer to Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who recently resigned as Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, as a "former (Capitol) Hill staffer."

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Barstow said he believes that had Miller written a story, she would have renegotiated the way she would have referenced Libby.

"I know there is no way Judy would have used that attribution," he said.

And this is from a supporter.