"I will always protect my sources." He previously said that he would not shy away from taking the appeal to the Supreme Court. "I remain as resolved as ever to continue fighting," he argued last week in a public statement. The revision was a response to public outcry over the department's aggressive investigative tactics, including subpoenaing Associated Press reporters' phone records.ĭespite the ruling, Risen has pledged to uphold his decision not to testify. Ironically, the statement comes shortly after the Justice Department published new guidelines for leak investigations designed to protect the interests of reporters. The Justice Department, meanwhile, expressly supported the decision, with a spokesperson announcing that the next steps in the prosecution of the case were already being examined. Senior reporters and media experts, most notably the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, expressed their disappointment over the ruling, arguing that the protection of sources was the most important of the fourth estate privileges for US reporters. The legal landscape now facing US journalists appears to be a bleak one.
#Obama espionage act journalists free#
"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," Gregory argues. Judge Roger Gregory argued that there was sufficient evidence to convict Sterling without Risen's testimony and took issue with the notion that a journalist should necessarily be compelled to reveal sources against his or her will in a criminal case. The judgement does, however, include a dissenting opinion. The same cannot be claimed in Risen's case - against the backdrop of the Snowden revelations and the Manning trial, this latest judgment could be interpreted as part of a veritable crusade. At the time, the scandal was widely perceived as a one-off. A similar situation played out in 2007, when fellow Times reporter Judith Miller was jailed for 85 days for refusing to testify about her sources in a scandal surrounding the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame. If Risen continues to ignore the subpoena, he could face jail time. The appeal court judges, however, found that Risen was the "only witness" who could provide a "first-hand account of the commission of a most serious crime indicted by the grand jury." A district court judgement initially backed him up, granting Risen protection against being forced to testify. Risen was called to testify, but the New York Times reporter refused, citing the irreconcilable damage it would do to his work if he were to betray his sources. It also exposes the increasing tension between the US government and news organizations: In order to get to Sterling, Risen's phone calls, emails - even his bank statements - were scrutinized by intelligence services. His decision to do so underscores the emphasis Obama's government is placing on the whistleblower crackdown. Shortly after the book's publication in 2006, the Bush administration embarked on an unrelenting pursuit of the leaker, with Obama reopening the case at the beginning of his first term by renewing the Risen subpoena. When the Times decided not to publish the story, Risen decided to do so of his own accord. In his book, Risen describes the mission as "grossly negligent," and brands it one of the most ridiculous gaffes in CIA history. The abortive mission, dubbed Operation Merlin, misfired when a Russian double agent on the CIA payroll tipped off Iranian officials about the defects. In "State of War," Risen exposed the CIA's attempts in 2000 to channel flawed blueprints to Tehran's weapons designers. The fact that Risen is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner will do little to protect him from what many commentators have described as a "disappointing" ruling. SPIEGEL Media Menü SPIEGEL Media aufklappen.Alle Magazine Menü Alle Magazine aufklappen.SPIEGEL-Heft Menü SPIEGEL-Heft aufklappen.Gutscheine Anzeige Menü Gutscheine aufklappen.Marktplatz Anzeige Menü Marktplatz aufklappen.Partner-Inhalte Anzeige Menü Partner-Inhalte aufklappen.Wissenschaft Menü Wissenschaft aufklappen.
0 kommentar(er)
