The Swiss regard disclosing the secrets of their companies, most especially their vaunted and oh, so discrete banks, as state treason. It is or until recently was the law. They treat such disclosures as if it were the same as selling submarine propulsion secrets to the Soviet or Chinese, or outing your own intel operatives to score domestic political points.

Little wonder that Bank Julius Baer was miffed. If the disclosures are accurate, one can only hope that their legal strategy backfires. That a federal judge would act in such a hamfisted fashion, apparently in disregard of the First Amendment - and in favor of a foreign corporation - requires looking into.

As a related matter, any one considering voting in favor of McCain should bear in mind that his favorite judge is Janice Rogers Brown, the hack from Texas who's legislating from the bench nauseated even her former colleague Alberto Gonzales. Bush, of course, appointed her to the federal circuit and a pliant GOP Senate obliged.

Posted at February 20, 2008 5:10 PM in response to Wikileaks Vows to Fight Court Shutdown