Michael Kinsley has some interesting thoughts on the Plame case, and the balance between the First Amendment and state secrets:
The purpose of protecting the identity of leakers is to encourage future leaks. Leaks to journalists, and fear of leaks, can be an important restraint on misbehavior by powerful institutions and people. This serves the public interest. But there is no public interest in leaks that harm national security, or leaks that violate the law, or leaks intended to harm blameless individuals. There is no reason to want more of these kinds of leaks. So there is no reason to protect the identity of such bad-faith leakers.
I think he overstates the case a bit - for example, the mere fact that leaking is illegal does not of itself make it contrary to the public interest. But he otherwise makes a good point.
