This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

The US supreme court has declined to intervene on behalf of a New York Times reporter who is facing prison for refusing to identify a confidential source.

The court rejected requests from James Risen, plus several media organisations, to overturn a lower court's order on the grounds that reporters are protected by the constitution from testifying about their sources.

But the judges offered no reason for turning down the case.

Federal prosecutors want Risen to testify in the case of Jeffrey Sterling, a former CIA analyst who they believe gave Risen information for his 2006 book State of war: the secret history of the CIA and the Bush administration.

In the book, Risen detailed classified information about the CIA's efforts to disrupt Iran's nuclear programme. He has said he will go to prison rather than reveal his sources.

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, which provides legal assistance to journalists, said it was "extremely disappointed" at the supreme court decision. Its statement said:

"The lower court's ruling sends an undeniable chill through current and future news sources who would want to come forward with information essential to the well-being of the community and the country."

Joel Kurtzberg, Risen's attorney, said he and Risen were also disappointed.

He said: "The ball is in the government's court... the government can proceed in the Sterling trial without Jim's testimony if it decides to do so, and I hope that they don't seek to find him in contempt for protecting his sources and doing his job."

Dean Baquet, executive editor of the New York Times, called the decision troubling. He said. "Journalists like Jim depend on confidential sources to get information the public needs to know. The court's failure to protect journalists' right to protect their sources is deeply troubling."

The Paris-based press freedom watchdog, Reporters Without Borders, has registered its concern about the supreme court decision. Its head of the Americas desk, Camille Soulier, said: "Forcing Risen to testify would be a serious violation to the confidentiality of sources.

"Risen is a Pulitzer prizewinner and a renowned investigative journalist. Sending him to jail would make reporting on national security issues a crime, and would set a dangerous legal precedent."

But US attorney general Eric Holder indicated during a meeting last week with journalists that prison for Risen would be unlikely. "As long as I'm attorney general, no reporter will go to jail for doing his job," Holder said.

Risen is continuing to write about national security issues for the New York Times. On Sunday, the paper published an article written jointly by him and Laura Poitras about the interception of images on social media platforms by the National Security Agency. It was based on documents leaked by Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor.

The Obama administration, leaks and the press

The case against Sterling is one of several the justice department has brought against people charged with leaking government secrets.

The crackdown on whistleblowers has been accompanied by investigations into journalists, which included the department secretly obtaining phone records for Associated Press journalists and investigators tracking the movements of a Fox News reporter.

Law enforcement officials looked extensively into Risen's phone calls, banking records and travel history.

Earlier this year, Risen called the Obama administration "the greatest enemy of press freedom that we have encountered in at least a generation."

Margaret Sullivan, public editor at the NY Times, has written about the administration's "unprecedented attacks on a free press." And former Washington Post executive editor Leonard Downie called the administration's efforts to control information "the most aggressive I've seen since the Nixon administration."

Reporters Without Borders has regularly condemned the war that the Obama administration is waging against whistleblowers such as Snowden and Chelsea (formerly Bradley) Manning.

It claims that eight alleged whistleblowers have been charged under the US espionage act since Obama became president in 2009, compared to three in all previous administrations combined.

Sources: Washington Post (1) & (2)/RCFP/New York Times/Reporters Without Borders