It's time to drop the investigation of James Risen
by digby
Will the administration do the right thing here?
The federal appeals court based in Richmond, Va., is weighing whether Risen should be forced to testify against Jeffrey Sterling, a onetime CIA operative who faces criminal Espionage Act charges for disclosing classified information that appeared in Risen's 2006 book State of War. A lower court judge ruled that Risen was protected by a common law privilege, a decision that prosecutors have appealed, arguing that reporters deserve no special protection in criminal cases. A coalition of media groups that includes NPR has filed a friend of the court brief in the case supporting Risen.
Kurtzberg, the lawyer for Risen, says the Justice Department report gives him new ammunition in that fight.
"In other words, the standard that the DOJ now articulates in the report is the very same standard that the government argues should not be applied to Mr. Risen by the court in this case," Kurtzberg writes. "The DOJ's recent change in position is nothing less than an admission that the legal standard it asks this court to apply provides wholly inadequate protection for the interests at stake in this case."
A lawyer for Sterling, Barry Pollack, points out the long delays in the case, which was indicted in 2011 and has yet to go to trial.
"This is a fight between the Department of Justice and Mr. Risen," Pollack says in an email to NPR. "Jeffrey Sterling, who served his country admirably, remains in legal limbo as the Department of Justice continues to pursue a leak from a decade ago."
Seriously, this should be a no-brainer. Risen has been under tremendous pressure for years now as one of the journalists the administration has pursued with Javert-like passion. If they are changing this policy, they need to drop this case. And frankly, Risen deserves an apology especially considering the endless classified leaks by administration officials that tell their preferred story. The double standard is enough to make you choke. I won't hold my breath.
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