Contempt Charge Against Va. Reporter Dropped

By: Joe Strupp A Virginia newspaper reporter who'd been found in contempt of court and faced up to a month in jail for refusing to reveal a source avoided going behind bars Tuesday when the source came forward on her own.

A U.S. magistrate judge found Chris Dumond of the Bristol (Va.) Herald Courier in contempt on July 22 for failing to reveal the source of information he received from a sealed warrant related to the investigation of a local doctor. During a hearing that day, Judge Pamela Sargent ordered Dumond, 23, to reveal the source. He declined.

Sargent then ordered Dumond to return on Tuesday and provide the source's identity or face a contempt finding that could result in a $5,000 fine or up to 30 days in jail. Virginia has no shield law protecting reporters' rights to keep sources confidential.

The potential contempt finding stemmed from five articles Dumond wrote between June 26 and July 11 on Dr. Tajammul Bhatti, a Pakistani psychiatrist who was detained June 20 as a material witness in a federal grand jury probe. Investigators believed Bhatti might have had information about potential terrorism and development of weapons of mass destruction, and held him for six days in June. He was released and never charged with any crime.

As part of the continuing grand jury investigation, Dumond was asked to reveal who provided him with access to the sealed warrant. He continued to refuse and said he would maintain his silence during Tuesday's hearing, even if it meant a fine and jail time.

But, during Tuesday's proceedings, Dumond's situation changed when a friend of Bhatti's, Nancy McNey, revealed she had been the source. McNey came forward after Judge Sargent told the court room that she would not prosecute the source for leaking information if the person came forward and was not an officer of the court or someone involved in the investigation.

"I think things turned out the best for everyone," said Dumond, who had the contempt finding purged by Judge Sargent. "I'm very much relieved because I was ready to go to jail."

David Harless, one of the attorneys representing Dumond and the newspaper, expressed relief as well. "Everyone walked away a winner," he said.