Reporting = treason?

Vice President Cheney had some choice words for the New York Times yesterday (in Grand Island, Neb., where I graduated from high school, and is neither grand nor an island), and one congressman is calling for the Justice Department to “begin an investigation and prosecution” of the Old Gray Lady.

Question: Is this a legitimate effort to protect American security, a full frontal assault on the First Amendment, or a bunch of political smoke?