Will CIA Firing Cloud Public Window on Government?

Still, many are wondering if McCarthy's dismissal will have a broader silencing effect.

"It'll have a lot of people thinking twice before talking to people they've known for years as reporters," said James Bamford, a journalist and author who covers national security. "So I think there will be a lot less information coming out."

That could perhaps change the way Americans learn what their government doesn't want them to know.

ABC News' Liz Marlantes and Thomas Giusto originally reported this story for "World News Tonight."