Confidential Sources, the Press and the Prosecutor

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Matt Cooper of Time magazine and Judith Miller of the New York Times may find out today if they're going to jail. A federal prosecutor wants to know if aides in the Bush White House committed felonies by leaking the identity of a CIA agent. One of them could be the President's political advisor, Karl Rove. Cooper and Miller have refused to testify before a grand jury, claiming an obligation to protect confidential sources. With no federal law shielding reporters in circumstances like this, Judge Thomas Hogan has found them in contempt of his order to testify. Should confidential sources be protected? Should reporters obey the same laws as everyone else? We get the background on this clash of Constitutional values from reporters and experts in Constitutional law, media ethics and free speech. Making News: London Wins 2012 Olympics; Blair, Chirac to Meet at G8 There was dancing today in Trafalgar Square as fighter jets trailed smoke with the colors of the British flag and Prime Minister Tony Blair proclaimed -a momentous day for London,- which beat Paris, New York and Madrid as host city for the 2012 Olympic Games. Jonathan Friedland of Britain's Guardian newspaper says President Jacques Chirac will be "eating crow" at tonight's G8 summit dinner. Reporter's Notebook: After 9,000 Years, Scientists Examine Kennewick Man Nine years ago, college students stumbled across a human skull on the banks of the Columbia River in Washington State. Before scientists could do any research, five Native American tribes claimed ownership. Now, the legal dispute has been resolved. The Seattle Times' Sandi Doughton says that opens the way for scientists to investigate Kennewick Man, the oldest and best-preserved ancient human remains ever found in North America.
Matt Cooper of Time magazine and Judith Miller of the New York Times may find out today if they're going to jail. A federal prosecutor wants to know if aides in the Bush White House committed felonies by leaking the identity of a CIA agent. One of them could be the President's political advisor, Karl Rove. Cooper and Miller have refused to testify before a grand jury, claiming an obligation to protect confidential sources. With no federal law shielding reporters in circumstances like this, Judge Thomas Hogan has found them in contempt of his order to testify. Should confidential sources be protected? Should reporters obey the same laws as everyone else? We get the background on this clash of Constitutional values from reporters and experts in Constitutional law, media ethics and free speech.
  • Making News: London Wins 2012 Olympics; Blair, Chirac to Meet at G8
    There was dancing today in Trafalgar Square as fighter jets trailed smoke with the colors of the British flag and Prime Minister Tony Blair proclaimed -a momentous day for London,- which beat Paris, New York and Madrid as host city for the 2012 Olympic Games. Jonathan Friedland of Britain's Guardian newspaper says President Jacques Chirac will be "eating crow" at tonight's G8 summit dinner.
  • Reporter's Notebook: After 9,000 Years, Scientists Examine Kennewick Man
    Nine years ago, college students stumbled across a human skull on the banks of the Columbia River in Washington State. Before scientists could do any research, five Native American tribes claimed ownership. Now, the legal dispute has been resolved. The Seattle Times' Sandi Doughton says that opens the way for scientists to investigate Kennewick Man, the oldest and best-preserved ancient human remains ever found in North America.

International Olympic Committee elects London for 2012 Site

G8 Summit Gleneagles 2005

Time magazine on Matthew Cooper case

New York Times article on jailing of Judith Miller

Isikoff's article on 'the Rove factor' in Plame story

AP report that Matthew Cooper will testify to grand jury

Schmitt's article on Time magazine case

Kennewick Man, National Park Service's Center for Cultural Resources on

Native American Graves and Repatriation Act

Doughton's article on Kennewick Man

Credits

Host:

Warren Olney