Judge says NYT reporter must testify, limits scope (AP)

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal judge ruled Friday that a New York Times reporter must testify at the trial of a former CIA officer charged with leaking classified information about Iran, but limited the scope of what the journalist could be asked about.

Prosecutors have subpoenaed Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter James Risen to testify at the September trial of Jeffrey Sterling, an ex-CIA officer from Missouri. Risen's lawyers had argued that the First Amendment should shield him from having to testify about his sources.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema said Risen must testify at the trial. But she ruled that his testimony be limited to four topics.

Those topics are that he wrote an article or book chapter; that they are accurate; that statements referred to in Risen's newspaper article or book chapter as being made by an unnamed source were in fact made to Risen by an unnamed source; and that statements referred to as being made by an identified source were in fact made by that identified source.

The government alleges Sterling was a key source for a chapter in Risen's 2006 book "State of War," which details a botched CIA effort during the Clinton administration, dubbed Operation Merlin, to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions by secretly giving the Iranians intentionally flawed blueprints through a Russian intermediary.

"This is an important victory for the First Amendment and investigative reporters everywhere," Risen's lawyer Joel Kurtzberg said Friday evening, referring to the limits on what Risen can be asked to testify about.

Last year, Brinkema quashed a similar subpoena issued to Risen when the case was in front of a grand jury. She ruled that the government simply didn't need Risen's testimony to obtain an indictment in light of other evidence possessed by the government, including phone records showing multiple calls between Risen and Sterling.

Prosecutors had argued that Risen's First Amendment rights paled in comparison to the government's need to prosecute criminals and obtain evidence to which juries are rightfully entitled.

A spokesman for the Justice Department did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

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APNewsBreak: NYT reporter subpoenaed in CIA case (AP)

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Federal prosecutors issued a subpoena for a New York Times reporter to testify about classified documents he allegedly received from a former CIA operative who is charged with illegally leaking the information.

In a court filing late Monday, prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia said they expect the reporter, James Risen, will try to quash the subpoena. Risen has not cooperated in the case against ex-CIA employee Jeffrey Sterling, a resident of O'Fallon, Mo.

A judge previously quashed a subpoena issued to Risen earlier in the case. But prosecutors say Risen's testimony would be relevant to a jury, and that reporters enjoy no special privilege under federal law to avoid testifying.

"Mr. Risen is an eyewitness to those crimes. Mr. Risen's testimony, like that of any other citizen in his situation, should therefore be admitted to permit the jury to carry out its truth-seeking function," prosecutors from the Department of Justice and the Eastern District of Virginia wrote in a court filing seeking to compel Risen's testimony at trial.

Prosecutors allege Sterling was a source for Risen in a book about CIA operations in Iran.

A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride in the Eastern District of Virginia referred calls to the Justice Department, where DOJ procedures require the attorney general himself to sign off on subpoenaing a journalist.

Justice Department spokeswoman Laura Sweeney said in a statement that the department makes "every reasonable effort to attempt to obtain information from alternatives sources before even considering a subpoena to a member of the press, and only seeks information essential to directly establishing innocence or guilt."

Sterling's lawyer, Edward MacMahon, expressed frustration Tuesday that the prosecutors' motion delved into topics that previously had been under seal.

"Everything in that motion has previously been considered classified," MacMahon said. "Ultimately this is an issue between Risen and the U.S. government."

The government's motion is actually the first time in the case that Risen was mentioned by name. The indictment referred to him only as "Author A." The judge in the case, Leonie Brinkema, has prodded the government to lift much of the shroud of secrecy in the case so it can be efficiently prosecuted in open court.

Risen's lawyer, Joel Kurtzberg, confirmed that Risen received the subpoena Monday night and again will ask the judge to quash the subpoena. He declined further comment.

A New York Times spokeswoman did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Sterling, who is black, has a long, contentious history with the CIA. He filed a racial discrimination complaint with the agency's Equal Opportunity office in 2000 and followed that up with several federal lawsuits.

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