A Fifth column at the Fourth Estate

A Fifth column at the Fourth Estate.
As noted by Michelle Malkin; the NYT is two faced about leaks of classified government information. I guess the NYT forgets that we are at war and lives are on the line.
Then:
"After an egregiously long delay, Attorney General John Ashcroft finally did the right thing yesterday when he recused himself from the investigation into who gave the name of a CIA operative to the columnist Robert Novak. Mr. Ashcroft turned the inquiry over to his deputy, who quickly appointed a special counsel."
--New York Times editorial, "The Right Thing, At Last," December 31, 2003
Now:
"A democratic society cannot long survive if whistle-blowers are criminally punished for revealing what those in power don't want the public to know - especially if it's unethical, illegal or unconstitutional behavior by top officials. Reporters need to be able to protect these sources, regardless of whether the sources are motivated by policy disputes or nagging consciences. This is doubly important with an administration as dedicated as this one is to extreme secrecy."
New York Times editorial, "On the Subject of Leaks," January 4, 2006

So according to the NYT,
if the leaks hurts the President – it is good;
if the leak helps the President – it is bad.
But ALL leaks of classified information is illegal,
And Congress was aware of the NSA monitoring of INTERNATIONAL communications in October 2001.
And as concerns about the program surfaced – the President reviewed the program and adjusted the program to address the concerns.
Plus the President and NSA periodically made reports to Congress.
Never forget that Congress can demand more information from the administration, or Congress can cut funding.