But wait a minute.

If an Associated Press article revealed some choice bit of information to the enemy that empowered it and hurt Americans -- if that damage was, in fact, done -- why not tell us the particulars?

After all, if the enemy already got information that endangered American national security, they already know about it, by definition. Holder's explanation would seem to suggest that he could tell us the damaging information that passed to the enemy, and why it was damaging, without telling the enemy anything they don't already know. He is nevertheless being vague and noncommittal.

Why is that?

Perhaps there's an innocent explanation. If so, he should offer it. Absent any explanation, there is probable cause for suspicion (not that Holder would demand as high a standard as that!). When one guy is saying, to quote the A.P. chief directly, "We held that story until the government assured us that the national security concerns had passed," and the other guy is saying that's wrong, but can't explain why in any detail, the former has the more credible account.

Orin Kerr of The Volokh Conspiracy gamely tries to come up with an alternative scenario that would make Holder's position seem more reasonable -- you can read it for yourself here -- and while we should remain open to a scenario like the one he sketches, it's hard to see why Holder couldn't sketch mitigating details for us himself. Absent any information, we're left to judge his plea to "trust us" in the context of the Obama Administration's general credibility on press issues.

The New York Times characterizes that context as follows: "The Obama administration has indicted six current and former officials under the Espionage Act, which had previously been used only three times since it was enacted in 1917. One, a former C.I.A. officer, pleaded guilty under another law for revealing the name of an agent who participated in the torture of a terrorist suspect. Meanwhile, President Obama decided not to investigate, much less prosecute, anyone who actually did the torturing." In other words, their judgment can't be trusted.

