Reporters Without Borders denounces the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit decision, on 28 June 2005, to uphold civil contempt of court findings against four journalists who refuse to reveal their sources for stories about former nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee.
« This is the second ruling of this kind in two days" the worldwide press freedom organization said, referring to yesterday's Supreme Court decision not to hear the Plame case. Such a chilling trend seriously undermines the media's role as a countervailing force in society. These rulings seriously erode the right of Americans to be informed. No one will dare reveal sensitive information to journalists anymore if confidentiality of sources is not guaranteed. »
Reporters Without Borders pointed out that they are media professionals, not federal investigators. « By protecting the identity of their sources, they are safeguarding society's right to monitor public affairs. »
« Source confidentiality is an inviolable principle, Reporters Without Borders continued. It is astonishing to see that this principle is better recognized today in 31 States - and in Washington D.C., where it is protected by 'shield laws' - than at the federal level. We urge Congress to adopt, as soon as possible, the bills presented at the same time in the Senate and House of Representatives last February, which recognize journalists' privilege to protect source confidentiality. »
On August 2004, US District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, in Washington, fined five journalists 500 dollars each for each day that they continued to conceal their sources for their stories about a former nuclear weapons scientist, Wen Ho Lee, who was once suspected of spying. He found them in contempt for refusing to obey his order of October 14, 2003 to reveal their sources to the scientist's lawyer. Application of the fine was suspended pending appeals. A hearing took place on May 9, 2005 before the DC Court of Appeals.
When questioned by the judge between December 18, 2003 and January 8, 2004, the journalists gave him all the information they could without revealing their sources, claiming protection under the first amendment to the national constitution.
Those five journalists are : Jeff Gerth and James Risen, of the daily The New York Times, Robert Drogin, of the daily Los Angeles Times, H. Josef Hebert, of the Associated Press news agency, and Pierre Thomas, who was working for the TV network CNN at the time.
The appeals court today reversed a contempt finding against New York Times reporter Jeff Gerth, saying there was insufficient evidence against him to sustain such a conclusion. The four other reporters face fines of 500 dollars a day. Their lawyers have not yet disclosed whether or not they will file an appeal.
Lee brought a lawsuit against the US Departments of Energy and Justice, which he accuses of handing over private information about him implying that he was a suspect in a nuclear secrets case. Jackson said in his October 14, 2003 decision that Lee had the right to know which government officials had leaked the information that had led to his being named as a suspect in the media.
