Washington Times reporter Bill Gertz faces the possibility of a grand jury subpoena despite a Californian federal judgment supporting his right to protect confidential sources on 25 July. Gertz refused to answer questions about confidential sources used in a 16 May 2006 article about a Chinese espionage case, citing his First Amendment rights.
The federal prosecutor told the court that the Justice Department is pursuing a separate grand jury investigation of the leak and indicated Gertz may be subpoenaed in that probe. Gertz’s article had cited unnamed ‘US government officials’ as sources. Federal Judge Carney ultimately ruled that ‘freedom of the press is a paramount interest’ and that Gertz was performing a public service by reporting on the Chi Mak case.
