A (new) use for illegal wiretapping: outing whistle-blowers

ABC was recently warned that the federal government is tapping the phones of ABC reporters (if not others) in an attempt to track down any whistle-blowers/anonymous tipper-offers the reporters are in contact with.

Taking the warning as fact, I wonder why the governemnt would want this information if they did not intend to somehow punish those calling ABC to blow the proverbial whistle? How could this be anything more than full blown government enforced silence? What will happen to these people once (or if) they are tracked down? Is this information the government will hold onto and use for future scapegoating when the next Valerie Plame problem arises?

At the same time, given that this information came directly from a government source, I wonder whether this wasn't a story intentionally leaked as a way of manipulating the media and scaring off potential blowers of whistles... Who knows.

Either way it's pretty scary, as the government is obviously going to new lengths to control what information we are allowed to be told. If Nixon were alive, I'm sure he'd be wishing he could've done this with Woodward and Bernstein.

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