Via Bloomberg News:

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected appeals by reporters for the New York Times and Time magazine who face jail for refusing to disclose their sources to a prosecutor investigating the leak of a CIA operative’s identity.

The justices in Washington turned down arguments by New York Times reporter Judith Miller and Time correspondent Matthew Cooper that they were protected by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment free-press guarantee. A federal judge held Miller and Cooper in contempt of court for refusing to identify their sources, in Miller’s case for a story she never wrote.

The reporters were looking into who leaked the name of Valerie Plame, a Central Intelligence Agency weapons proliferation specialist, to newspaper columnist Robert Novak. It’s a federal crime for someone who knows the identity of covert U.S. agents to deliberately disclose their names. Novak has refused to say whether he was subpoenaed to reveal his sources.

Lyle Deniston at SCOTUSblog:

The action means that, at least for the time being, the Constitution and federal common law do not recognize a “reporter’s privilege” of confidentiality.

Editor and Publisher’s coverage here.
Washington Post here.

Some liberals, who disliked Miller’s WMD reportage, are gloating over the journalists’ loss. Last month, smug free-speech champion Al Franken joked at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press’ 35th anniversary dinner:

“Judy,”" Franken said, “maybe you can find some WMD in your cell.” Silence. “OK, I shouldn’t have told that joke.”

There’s still nobody laughing, Al.

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