Writing in The New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof found it “utterly disappointing” that the Obama administration’s Justice Department had subpoenaed fellow Timesman James Risen, demanding he reveal his sources for a new book about the CIA.

A Times story said the prosecutors are seeking information about a chapter in Risen’s book “State of War: The Secret History of the C.I.A. and the Bush Administration” about the “C.I.A.’s effort to disrupt Iranian nuclear research.”

This is just a bit ironic given that it was the Times that cheered the appointment of a special prosecutor to root out the source of a leak that Valerie Plame was a CIA agent.

A Dec. 31, 2003, editorial in the Times crowed, “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 C.I.A. operative to the columnist Robert Novak. Mr. Ashcroft turned the inquiry over to his deputy, who quickly appointed a special counsel. There was little chance of a credible outcome for the investigation as Mr. Ashcroft had originally chosen to run it: under his personal supervision, using Justice Department lawyers whose futures are dependent on his good graces. Even the normal investigative units of the F.B.I. would have been cut out of the loop.”

The editorial encouraged that law enforcement to go after those in the White House who might have “revealed the name of a C.I.A. operative for political reasons.”

That cheered on the special prosecutor who wound up jailing fellow Timeswoman Judith Miller for 85 days for refusing to reveal her sources, even though she never wrote about the matter.

Be careful what you ask for. You just might get it — good and hard.