NEW YORK A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. circuit heard arguments today on behalf of two reporters facing jail for refusing to reveal sources in the Valerie Plame case but took no action, according to Lucy Dalglish, executive director of Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, who attended the hearing.
"They were highly skeptical," Dalglish said about the judges, who questioned lawyers on both sides of the case for more than an hour. "They had very probing questions of the government, but also wanted to know why journalists should have a privilege that others do not."
The reporters under scrutiny, Judith Miller of The New York Times and Matthew Cooper of Time magazine, attended the hearing but did not speak during the proceedings, according to Dalglish. Both were found in contempt of court weeks ago for refusing to reveal the source who leaked the identity of CIA undercover agent Valerie Plame to them.
Although neither reporter was responsible for revealing Plame's identity, they are among numerous reporters who have been targeted in a federal probe seeking to determine who leaked the Plame's identity, which was first revealed by columnist Robert Novak last year.
Floyd Abrams, the famed attorney who represented the Times, was questioned for about 45 minutes by the judges, according to Dalglish, who said government attorneys were under questioning for only 30 minutes. "I think they were enjoying skewering" Abrams, Dalglish said. She added that the judges gave no indication about when they would offer a ruling. "They could decide they want it by Christmas," she said. "Or it could take months."
