About IFEX:

News by region:

IFEX Campaigns and Advocacy:

IFEX Email Products:

Opportunities and assistance:

JOURNALISTS' RIGHT TO PROTECT SOURCES THREATENED

One of the indicators of a free press is the degree to which journalists are able to protect their sources. In the United States, that privilege is being sorely tested, with prosecutors compelling more journalists to reveal their sources this year than in decades, reports the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Since March 2004, federal prosecutors and judges have issued subpoenas to at least 10 journalists in relation to several high-profile leak investigation cases. In August 2004, five reporters were held in contempt and fined for refusing to testify in a civil lawsuit filed by former US nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee. Lee's Lawyers are attempting to find out which officials leaked confidential information about the scientist to the media (see: http://www.rcfp.org/standup/subpoenas.html).

More recently, five journalists have been issued subpoenas to testify in a federal investigation into which administration officials leaked the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame. Robert Novak, a nationally syndicated columnist, had revealed Plame's identity in July, citing unnamed administration officials. Under US law, a government official's willful disclosure of an undercover CIA officer is a crime.

In October, two of the five journalists - "New York Times" reporter Judith Miller and "Time" correspondent Matthew Cooper - were held in contempt for refusing to testify. A federal judge sentenced both to prison and ordered "Time" magazine to pay a daily fine of US$1,000 for refusing to turn over requested information. CPJ notes that Miller never wrote about Plame. The judge has stayed the sentences while lawyers for Cooper, Miller and "Time" appeal the ruling.

What is troubling about these cases, says CPJ's Frank Smyth, is that they send a signal to other governments that pressuring journalists to reveal their sources is a legitimate practice in a democracy.

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) has launched a petition to support the 10 journalists and is inviting press freedom advocates to sign their names. To date, more than 4,000 individuals and organisations have signed (see http://www.rcfp.org/standup/).

Visit:

- CPJ: http://www.cpj.org/Briefings/2004/DA_fall04/Smyth/Smyth.html
- RCFP: http://www.rcfp.org/
- Matthew Cooper's Report in Time Magazine: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,465270,00.html
- Survey Shows Public Support for Journalists' Right to Protect Sources:
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=14190
- Karl Rove Testifies in Plame Case: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,724804,00.html
- Robert Novak Defends Leak: http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/09/29/novak.cia/