By Bob Egelko
San Francisco Chronicle
Sept. 26, 2006
Excerpt:
A federal judge issued a written ruling
Monday ordering two Chronicle reporters imprisoned for up to 18 months
for refusing to reveal confidential sources, saying they defied grand
jury subpoenas despite claiming that they did not consider themselves
above the law.
The ruling, by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White, confirmed his oral
decision at a hearing last Thursday to jail the reporters, Mark
Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, for refusing to disclose their source
of transcripts of grand jury testimony about steroid use by elite
athletes.
At that hearing, Fainaru-Wada and Williams, veteran reporters who have
been with The Chronicle since 2000, defended their refusal to testify,
saying sources with information about wrongdoing rely on journalists to
keep promises of confidentiality.
White said Monday that he "does not fault Fainaru-Wada and Williams for
their convictions'' and is not trying to punish them, only to pressure
them into complying with the law.
