Reporter Appeals to Guard Sources

(© 2009 Detroit Free Press)

By Amanda Damiano

A Detroit Free Press reporter is making an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati to protect his confidential sources, according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

If journalist David Ashenfelter cannot convince a judge why he protected his sources, he can be held in contempt in former federal prosecutor Richard Convertino’s Privacy Act lawsuit against the government. Although Ashenfelter has invoked the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, the judge has ordered him to further explain his reasoning.

Ashenfelter’s attorney Herschel Fink argues that his client is not legally obligated to testify based on the Fifth and First Amendments.

According to the article, Ashenfelter says that if he were to testify about his sources, he could make himself vulnerable to criminal prosecution for a number of crimes including conspiracy, theft and receipt of government information, and violation of the Espionage Act.

Questions:

-Given the Fifth Amendment, do you think Ashenfelter should have to testify?

-If you were representing Ashenfelter, what would be your strongest legal argument?