Wen Ho Lee Reporters Fined $500-Per-Day for Contempt

By: Joe Strupp Five reporters who have refused to testify about confidential sources used in their reporting of the Wen Ho Lee case were held in contempt of court Wednesday and ordered to pay a $500-per-day fine by a federal judge. The order, from Federal District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, stems from a civil case brought by the former government scientist who is suing the federal government.

Jackson then immediately stayed the order and the fines for 30 days pending appeal of the contempt citation, according to Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, who attended the hearing.

The judge, who took 90 minutes of testimony in the case during a morning hearing in the suit, issued the contempt order just after 5 p.m. today.

?He didn?t sentence them to jail, but this is not a surprise,? Dalglish told E&P. ?In civil case, it is not unusual for them to come up with a fine.?

Dalglish also said the judge told those in attendance that he believed the journalists were acting in good faith and genuinely believe they are entitled to the privilege.

The reporters held in contempt were: Jeff Gerth and James Risen of The New York Times, Robert Drogin of the Los Angeles Times, Josef Herbert of The Associated Press, and Pierre Thomas of CNN (now of ABC).

Jackson's hearing was in response to a request by Lee's attorney to hold the reporters in contempt for failing to respond to subpoenas issued two years ago for their testimony in depositions related to the case.

The reporters have each refused to testify in depositions and their attorneys have sought to have the subpoenas quashed, a request Jackson has refused.

Walter Pincus of The Washington Post also faces contempt charges in the case for refusing to testify, but the judge has yet to consider his situation since he received a subpoena three weeks after the others.

The hearing takes on more significance due to its timing -- just days after several subpoenas were issued in the Valerie Plame investigation. In that case, three subpoenas seeking testimony and records from The New York Times have been issued, while The Washington Post has received one subpoena compelling reporter Pincus to testify in that case as well. In addition, Time magazine writer Matthew Cooper was ordered jailed last week for refusing to testify in the Plame matter, a ruling that also has been stayed pending appeal.