The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
July 22, 2013

New York Times Reporter Ordered to Testify in Trial of Alleged Source 
----------------------------------------------------------------------


 
A federal appeals court has ordered a New York Times correspondent to
testify in the criminal trial of an ex-CIA officer accused of being his
source. Prosecutors believe Jeffrey Sterling gave the New York Times'
James Risen information on the CIA’s role in disrupting Iran’s
nuclear program. A federal judge previously threw out a similar subpoena
leveled at Risen, but the Obama administration appealed. In a divided
two to one opinion, the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled
Friday that Risen must testify because the First Amendment does not
protect reporters who receive unauthorized leaks from testifying against
their sources. In a dissent, Judge Roger Gregory said: "The majority
exalts the interests of the government while unduly trampling those of
the press, and in doing so, severely impinges on the press and the free
flow of information in our society." Risen has vowed to go to prison
rather than testify and to bring his appeal before the U.S. Supreme
Court.

 

.