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Journalists Cooper and Miller Face Jail Time After Supreme Court Refuses to Intervene
June 28, 2005
PEN USA is deeply disturbed by the Supreme Court’s decision yesterday to reject the appeals of Matthew Cooper of Time magazine and Judith Miller of The New York Times, the journalists who refused to give up their sources in the Valerie Plame outing case.
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In May, the Attorneys General of 34 states and the District of Columbia filed a brief in support of the two reporters, asking the Supreme Court to hear the case and also to create a federal shield law to protect journalists. Despite that show of support, the Supreme Court denied the appeal.
The case involves a grand jury investigation into the leak of the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame, whose name was disclosed by the syndicated columnist Robert Novak, on July 14, 2003. Disclosing the identity of a covert officer for the Central Intelligence Agency can be a federal crime. It has been suggested that the White House might have leaked Plame’s name as retribution for her husband’s criticism of the president.
Cooper wrote one article about the case, after Novak had already broke the story. Cooper’s article raised questions about government officials trying to discredit Plame’s husband, but he was not the one who printed Plame’s identity. Miller did some research but never even wrote a story related to this case.
In August 2004, Cooper was ordered to name the government officials who disclosed Plame’s identity, and Cooper refused. Cooper was held in contempt and threatened with jail time until he named his source. The reporter refused on First Amendment grounds: “No reporter in the United States should have to go to jail for simply doing their job,” he stated. Miller was also held in contempt and also faces prison time.
In late 2004, Floyd Adams, at the time representing both Miller and Cooper, filed a motion before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. After hearing arguments in December, the court ruled in February 2005 against the reporters, saying there is no First Amendment protection for journalists attempting to protect their sources. The ruling was unanimous. The rehearing request was also denied.
PEN USA feels the courts have let Cooper and Miller down, and we urge the committee to write letters in support of these journalists.
Chief Judge Thomas F. Hogan agreed to hold a hearing next Wednesday, July 6, to consider last-ditch arguments from lawyers for the reporters on why they should not be sent to jail.
Recommended Action:
Write directly to Judge Hogan, urging him to keep the reporters out of jail on First Amendment grounds:
The Honorable Thomas F. Hogan
Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse
333 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001
phone (chambers): (202) 354-3420;
For ways to help re: shield laws, please see Judith Miller’s webpage:
http://www.judithmiller.org/howtohelp/index.php
Comments:
Dear Judge Hogan--
Aloha. If you enjoy living in a nation that is free, you will vote to keep the press and its sources free as well. I urge you to protect our first amendment rights in these very trying times. Best, Eric Paul Shaffer
The Honorable Thomas F. Hogan
Chief Judge, U.S. District Court
for the District of Columbia
E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse
333 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001
Dear Justice Hogan:
“Freedom of the press is not an end in itself but a means...to a free society.” - Justice Felix Frankfurter
As someone who cherishes the courage of journalists in a free society to keep the public informed, I beg you not to send Judith Miller to jail.
Sincerely,
Member, PEN USA