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Judge Rules Against Reporters in Anthrax Lawsuit
A federal judge yesterday ordered five reporters to identify sources they used in articles on a former U.S. Army infectious disease scientist linked by federal authorities to the 2001 anthrax attacks, the Washington Post reported (see GSN, July 5). Former Attorney General John Ashcroft once called Steven Hatfill a “person of interest” in the mailing of spore-laden parcels that killed five people and sickened 17. However, no charges have been filed against Hatfill or anyone else in the case. In a 2003 lawsuit, Hatfill said the government conducted a “coordinated smear campaign” that violated his right to privacy and prevented him from finding work. He is seeking the names of FBI and Justice Department officials who anonymously provided information to several news outlets. “The names of the sources are central to Dr. Hatfill’s case,” according to a 33-page opinion from U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton. He ordered five reporters to respond to detailed questions regarding their sources. The journalists are Allan Lengel of the Washington Post, Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman of Newsweek, former USA Today reporter Toni Locy and James Stewart of CBS News. Walton ruled that ABC, CBS, the Associated Press, Newsweek, the The judge gave no sign of support for a federal common law protection for reporters, the Post reported. He ruled that most any information specifically about Hatfill and possible links to the anthrax case would be covered by the Privacy Act. Media representatives disagreed. “It may be that Mr. Hatfill was done wrong by the federal government,” said Lucy Dalglish of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. “But these reporters were just trying to inform the public about whether the government had a clue about what was happening” (Carol Leonnig, Washington Post, Aug. 14).
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