But only because the leaker of court documents decided to accept a plea agreement. The testimony of the reporters therefore became unnecessary.

Two reporters from The San Francisco Chronicle who wrote a best-selling book about steroid use in baseball will avoid jail time after a defense lawyer agreed Wednesday to plead guilty to leaking them secret federal court documents, prosecutors said.

The lawyer, Troy L. Ellerman, will plead guilty to two counts of contempt, as well as one count each of obstruction of justice and filing false statements in a federal court, according to a statement from the United States AttorneyÂ’s Office in Los Angeles.

As part of the plea, the Justice Department will withdraw subpoenas issued to the reporters Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada, who had been held in contempt by a federal judge since September for refusing to say who their sources were for a series of Chronicle articles and their 2006 book, “Game of Shadows.”

“The government believes that Ellerman’s guilty pleas alleviate the need for the reporters to testify,” the statement read.

I'm glad this case was resolved without some court expanding the absurd notion of a "reporter's privilege". Like every American, reporters are subject to the laws of this country and must produce evidnce in court. They are not an aristocracy above the laws of the United States, nor should they be. And especially in a case in which the actual crime was the disclosure of information to the reporters, they should be required to appear and testify just like the rest of us.

Posted by: Greg at 11:15 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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