USA: New York Times must disclose sources

The New York Times is not allowed to protect its whistleblowers. As the Supreme Court ruled on Monday, the daily newspaper must disclose the telephone conversations of two editors to the US government. Judith Miller and Philip Shenon had revealed confidential government plans in 2001. These planned to freeze the assets of two Islamic charities in the fight against terrorism. Since then, public prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has been trying to freeze the source of the confidential information. The Supreme Court's decision means that Fitzgerald can now listen to the telephone conversations in the hope of uncovering the information leak.
The case is the second defeat for the New York Times before the Supreme Court. In the fall of 2005, reporter Miller had already been forced to disclose informants in an article about the CIA until she finally agreed to testify. Fitzgerald was also the lead prosecutor at the time.
Lucy Dalglish from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press expressed her disappointment at the decision, as the online newspaper writes. The Supreme Court is no help when it comes to protecting confidential sources. Now Congress must provide the necessary laws to protect confidential telephone conversations, demanded Dalglish.