Fox News Reporter Faces Judge Over Refusal to Reveal Sources — Will the First Amendment Win Out?

The Blaze/AP ^ | Apr. 1, 2013 4:44pm | Jason Howerton

[Texas Fossil]

UPDATE (AP) — A hearing on whether a reporter should be ordered to testify about how she obtained confidential information in the Colorado theater shooting case is being continued until next week.

New York-based Fox News reporter Jana Winter cited anonymous law enforcement officials in reporting that suspect James Holmes had sent a psychiatrist a notebook of drawings that foreshadowed the July 20 attack.

Prosecutors and Holmes’ lawyers argued about the issue in court Monday, but the defense wants to again question a detective about whether he might have told someone else about the notebook, who may have then talked to Winter.

The judge agreed and scheduled another hearing for April 10. He raised the possibility that Winter’s source was from outside Colorado, and not subject to the case’s gag order.

[Texas Fossil]

I have also been interested if that connection was involved with Mr. Kyle’s (the Navy Seal sniper) murder.

Very little has been said about him since it happened. That silence makes me suspicious he sold out to kill Kyle. One of his relatives said something like “he said he had made a deal with the devil”. Suspicious in my mind.

[Political Junkie Too]

Let's not forget that the New York Times' reporter Judith Miller refused to divulge her sources during the Valeria Plame affair, and she went to jail for 3 months because of it.

She now works for Fox News.

-PJ

[rawcatslyentist]

It’s more than that. It’s Monarch cocoons waiting to hatch.

[OnlyTurkeysHaveLeftWings]

the reporter wasn’t under any obligation to stay mum.


Legally, no. Ethically, yes. You promised your source that you wouldn't name him, so keep your promise. If you burn your source to stay out of jail, nobody will talk to you since you can't be trusted to keep your word.

This happens quite a lot, but usually the source (or editor) will come forward. Another way out is for the judge to declare the cops (or whoever) can find out the information they're after without getting the journo to squeal.

[RedMDer]

Freepers, your Contributions make every difference!
Please keep ‘em coming! Thank you all very much!

[Colonel_Flagg]

It varies from state to state since there is no Federal shield law. Generally, the state must show clear and compelling evidence regarding damage or potential damage to a case to force a reporter to testify.

[sarasmom]

You assume the average citizen does not have these same rights.

We do.

And since you just “published your viewpoint” on the Internet, you better hope that this journalist stands strong against an unlawful judicial edict.

Did you temporarily forget who works for whom?

[teeman8r]

long before the news reporters just made things up, they were an honest lot who would speak truth to power. power would demand to know the source of such truths, and reporters would rather go to prison to keep the sanctity of their sources than jeopardize the loss of information that they could achieve on the ill doings of power.

there is no special right, just a special dedication to the truth and the justice that that truth can bring.

with all news being suspect, nothing is sacred.

teeman8R

[piasa]

I wonder if Jana Winter’s source was someone ‘outside Colorado’ at the Phoenix field office of the FBI?

[Bratch]

I wonder if “Deep Throat” describes her source or her investigative technique?

[Texas Fossil]

Jana Winters? I’d never heard of her.

“Exclusive: FBI document warns conspiracy theories are a new domestic terrorism threat”

https://news.yahoo.com/fbi-documents-conspiracy-theories-terrorism-160000507.html

I do not consider Yahoo as a news source.

The article that Jana wrote makes light of the plot within the FBI and the DOJ and other Fed Agencies against candidate and now President Trump. That is not a “conspiracy theory”, it in fact did happen.

The FBI and Homeland Security has been like a dog chasing it’s tail trying to find home grown “right wing” crime. Sure, there are some nutters. But the FBI and other Fed Agencies have destroyed many lives trying to find a conspiracy where there was none. I will not list the ones I am aware of, but they were discussed openly and accurately here over the past 15 years.

I’m not anti Federal Law Enforcement, I am anti abuse of unaccountable Federal Power.

I’ve spent no time studying Q Anon, I know there are some well informed intelligent people here on FR who say it is real.

There is one heavy set, female author who has been cited by the FBI as an “authority” on home grown right wing conspiracies, that I think is a total fake.

[Texas Fossil]

I said I had never heard of Jana, but it is obvious when I looked back at the article that I posted it in 2013. That is a long way back.