Journalist convicted of criminal contempt
EDITOR’S NOTE: Corrected version, 11/19/04, below New York, November 18, 2004—A federal court today convicted Jim Taricani, a reporter at WJAR-TV, an NBC Universal–owned station in Providence, Rhode Island, of criminal contempt for refusing to reveal a confidential source. Sentencing is set for December 9, and Taricani faces up to six months behind bars, according…
Klebnikov family calls for journalists worldwide to probe editor’s unsolved murder
Washington, November 18, 2004—The family of slain journalist Paul Klebnikov is calling on reporters worldwide to launch an investigation into the unsolved murder of the Forbes Russia editor, gunned down in a contract-style slaying outside his Moscow office in July, the journalist’s brother said today. “In this awful tragedy there are seeds of hope. We’ve…
JUDGE ORDERS SECOND JOURNALIST TO JAIL
Washington, October 13, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed that a U.S. federal judge has ordered a second journalist to jail for refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating the leak of a CIA operative’s identity. Judge Thomas F. Hogan today ordered Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper to jail until he agrees to…
Judge holds Times reporter in contempt in CIA case
New York, October 7, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned that a federal judge has held another reporter in contempt for not disclosing confidential sources to prosecutors investigating the leak of a CIA operative’s identity. Judge Thomas F. Hogan today ordered New York Times reporter Judith Miller jailed until she agrees to testify…
Contempt ruling dismissed; source waives confidentiality
Washington, D.C., August 24, 2004—A contempt of court ruling against a Time magazine correspondent was dismissed yesterday after he agreed to testify in the CIA leak case. Matthew Cooper agreed to give a deposition after one of his sources, vice presidential aide I. Lewis Libby, waived confidentiality. Cooper was held in contempt this month by…
Contempt ruling sends disturbing message worldwide
New York, August 18, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply disturbed by a federal judge’s ruling today holding five reporters in contempt for refusing to identify sources for stories about Wen Ho Lee, the nuclear scientist once suspected of spying. U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson imposed daily fines of $500 against H. Josef…
CPJ deeply disturbed by contempt ruling in CIA leak case
New York, August 11, 2004—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is very concerned by a U.S. federal judge’s ruling to hold a journalist in contempt of court for refusing to testify before the grand jury probing the 2003 leak of a CIA operative’s name. Chief Judge Thomas F. Hogan of U.S. District Court in Washington,…
CPJ calls on Ridge to back reforms for foreign journalist visas
Dear Mr. Secretary: The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned that recent actions by the Department of Homeland Security have impeded access of foreign reporters to the United States, reversing long-standing U.S. government practice.
After journalists deported, bill would alter visa waiver program
Washington, July 23, 2004—A bill introduced this week in the U.S. House of Representatives would allow journalists from 27 “friendly” countries to enter the United States without a visa for up to 90 days—just as any other citizen of a “friendly” country may enter. Proposed by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), the bill, known as HR…
Court cites press, humanitarian concerns in “combatant” ruling
New York, June 29, 2004—In a case with ramifications for journalists working in conflict areas, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that Yaser Esam Hamdi, an American citizen detained by U.S. forces in Afghanistan in 2001, must be allowed to challenge his detention in a court of law. The government argued Hamdi was fighting with…