Judge Orders Judith Miller Jailed, Sulzberger Promises 'Fight'

By: E&P Staff A federal judge today held New York Times reporter Judith Miller in contempt for refusing to divulge confidential sources to prosecutors investigating the leak of an undercover CIA officer's identity.

U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan ordered Miller jailed until she agrees to testify about her sources before a grand jury, but said she could remain free while pursuing an appeal. Miller could be jailed up to 18 months.

"I'm extremely disappointed that I have been sentenced to jail despite the fact that I did not write, and The Times did not publish, an article about (CIA officer) Valerie Plame," Miller said in a statement.

"It's frankly frightening that just for doing my job and talking to government employees about public issues, I may be deprived of my freedom and family."

New York Times spokeswoman Catherine Mathis, asked by E&P about Miller's status at the paper, replied: "Judy's status remains unchanged. She continues to report."

Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr., publisher of the Times, said in a statement, "We are deeply dismayed by Judge Hogan's ruling and what it means for the practice of journalism in this country. The government's investigation into the Valerie Plame case has moved dangerously off course. Judy Miller has done nothing wrong. She is not the person who revealed the identity of a CIA agent. Yet she is the one who is facing time in jail while the very people who exposed Ms. Plame remain unpunished. The special counsel should be able to get to the bottom of this case without threatening reporters with jail.

"The pending imprisonment of Judy Miller is an attack on the ability of all journalists to report on the actions of governments, corporations and others. The Times will continue to fight for the ability of journalists to provide the people of this nation with the essential information they need to evaluate issues affecting our country and the world."

Miller said she cannot be an investigative reporter "without the trust of my sources and their confidence that I would protect them. I must, and I will."

Judge Hogan cited Supreme Court rulings that reporters do not have absolute First Amendment protection from testifying about confidential sources. He said there was ample evidence that U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald of Chicago, the special prosecutor in the CIA-leak case, had exhausted other avenues of obtaining key testimony before issuing subpoenas to Miller and other reporters.

Fitzgerald is investigating whether a crime was committed when someone leaked the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame, whose name was published by syndicated columnist Robert Novak on July 14, 2003. Novak cited two "senior administration officials" as his sources.

Miller's lawyer, Floyd Abrams, said he would file notice of an appeal of Hogan's ruling with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Fitzgerald also has issued subpoenas to reporters from NBC, Time magazine, and The Washington Post. Some have agreed to provide limited testimony after their sources -- such as Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff -- released them from their promises of confidentiality.

But, according to The Associated Press, Miller and Times Executive Editor Bill Keller said they would not agree to provide testimony even under those circumstances.