Nothing But the Truth Page #10

and that power is pervasive.

Ms. Armstrong could have buckled

to the demands of the government.

She could have abandoned

her promise of confidentiality.

She could have simply

gone home to her family.

But to do so

would mean that no source

would ever speak to her again,

and no source would ever speak

to her newspaper again,

and then tomorrow when we lock up

journalists from other newspapers,

we'll make those publications

irrelevant as well,

and thus we'll make the First Amendment

irrelevant.

And then how will we know

if a president has covered up crimes?

Or if an army officer has condoned torture?

We, as a nation, will no longer be able

to hold those in power accountable

to those whom they have power over.

And what then is the nature of government

when it has no fear of accountability?

We should shudder at the thought.

Imprisoning journalists?

That's for other countries.

That's for countries who fear their citizens,

not countries that cherish and protect them.

Some time ago,

I began to feel the personal

human pressure on Rachel Armstrong,

and I told her that I was there

to represent her and not a principle.

And it was not until I met her

that I realized that with great people,

there's no difference

between principle and the person.

Come on. I got new digs for you.

- You know, they brought him out here...

- It's nothing.

He's not a real person here.

- Soccer isn't a real thing here.

- They don't respond to it the same way.

- Judge, good afternoon.

- It's just not.

Good afternoon, thanks for coming over.

Mr. Burnside.

We're talking about soccer not law.

Just want you to know.

Look, the reason I asked

the two of you to come over here today

is that the Supremes

have decided your case.

The ruling will be down on Monday,

but I've been told by a confidential source

what it is,

and I wanted to share it with you.

Five-four, opinion against you, Albert.

Same as before.

National security, First Amendment,

the court went with national security.

And I want to say to you, Patton,

congratulations. You did a great job.

The court once again

has made clear that in a case

where journalists are not cooperative,

they may have to be incarcerated.

Well, thank you, sir.

That having been said,

I've decided to let her go.

I'm sorry, sir. What?

I've gotta let her go.

I've been doing this a lot of years now,

and I am sure that this woman

is not going to reveal her source.

She's been locked up for almost a year.

She has been beaten

within an inch of her life.

- She is resolute.

- That's exactly right. Exactly right.

I can only keep her in jail if I think doing so

will get her to reveal her source.

She's not going to talk.

I really have no choice but to let her go.

If I may. This is a...

This is a woman

who's been protecting a criminal.

- That makes her a criminal.

- Oh, come on. She's not a criminal,

and she won't be a criminal

unless she is duly charged

and duly convicted by a jury,

and that's not my call.

When are you gonna sign the paperwork,

Your Honor?

I want to get her out of there right away.

I'm gonna go to court Monday morning.

I'm gonna announce that I'm freeing her.

And, Patton, you got a choice.

You can beat me to the punch.

Just dissolve the grand jury.

As I'm sure your attorney has informed you,

the grand jury has been disbanded.

We're gonna have to

wait till midnight to let you go.

Midnight?

What? You're keeping the reporters

away from your losing cause?

Rachel, I know almost all of it.

I am indicting two government officials

for talking to you.

I wish I knew who it was

that first tipped you off,

but I'm not gonna get greedy.

I'm losing custody of my kid.

You want the wedding ring?

Kind of a trophy.

You know, vilify me if you want, Rachel,

but I had a job to do,

and I had every right to do what I did.

I think you're confusing your rights

with your power, Mr. Dubois.

It's okay.

We booked you a room at the Mayflower,

but you know you're welcome

to stay with me as long as you need.

- Thank you. Thanks.

- Sure.

I spoke to Ray.

He's gonna bring Timmy by

first thing in the morning.

Thought maybe

you would like to take him to school?

Yeah.

- That's okay?

- Yeah.

That'd be amazing.

God, I'm gonna scare him to death, though.

And, well, you let me know

what you want to do in terms of work.

You can if you want to.

No one's going to pressure you

about writing about your experiences.

Oh, please.

Rachel, look in the glove,

hand me the insurance and registration,

would you?

I was only going 30.

Ma'am, would you please

step outside of the car?

- What's going on?

- We just need you to step out.

Not you, ma'am.

- Are you kidding me?

- Get out of the car, Rachel.

- What's the problem, sir?

- I can't believe this.

- What do you want?

- I'm gonna ask you to turn around, please.

- What is it? What are you doing?

- Hey, hey! Go easy on her.

Rachel, I'm sorry that it's come to this.

- What is going on?

- Back in the car, ma'am.

Rachel, you're being charged with...

- What's going on here?

- They're arresting me, Bonnie.

You're being charged

with criminal contempt of court.

What does that mean?

Well, it means you have obstructed justice,

and you're going on trial.

- Come on. Let's go.

- Hasn't she been through enough?

God damn it.

Oh, no. God.

Dubois! Dubois!

Rachel, you're looking

at a possible five-year sentence

for impeding a federal investigation,

but I don't wanna go to trial.

So, I want to give you a chance

to plead this sentence down.

I want you to look in my eyes

and gauge my sincerity.

Use your reporter's instincts. Okay?

You're good with those.

- I'm gonna offer you two years.

- No. No.

No, it's gonna be suspended sentence,

probation.

You have to respect

what she's been through.

Albert, two years is not

as good an offer as it could be,

but it's not as bad, either.

Because you're guilty, Miss Armstrong.

You're guilty as charged,

and if you want to waltz

into a courtroom in a martyr's cloak,

trust me, you're gonna see something

that you have not seen yet.

Because this polite,

country lawyer demeanor

is gonna give way

to a wave of self-righteous indignation

that you can't even begin to imagine.

That jury is gonna hear

fire-breathing oratory

about a country

whose security has been compromised,

a husband widowed, and a little girl

who's gotta visit her mother's grave

because you wanted to chase

a Pulitzer Prize.

So, if you force me to take you to trial,

I'm gonna make sure

that you don't make it home

- for your son's high school graduation.

- Come on, that's enough.

So, what's it gonna be, Rachel?

If I agree to this, there is one thing I need.

Oh, my God. You have gotten so handsome.

You're a real little man.

I'll bet you got all the girls

chasing after you, huh?

No.

No? Well, you will.

I don't care. Whatever.

Hey, I kind of like your hair this way.

- Look, I know you're mad at me.

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