By Charles Wilson
The Associated Press
April 23, 2006
Excerpt:
An Indiana congressman
pushing a bill that would protect reporters who refuse to identify
their sources told public access advocates Friday night that freedom of
the press is "under siege."
Republican Rep. Mike Pence said he believed that freedom of the press was vital to limiting the power of government.
Pence pointed to cases such as that of former New York Times
reporter Judith Miller, who was jailed for 85 days last year when she
refused to tell federal prosecutors her source who leaked the name of
CIA agent Valerie Plame.
"We are in a time of great peril in the life of our fundamental
freedoms," Pence told those attending the 2006 Freedom of Information
Summit. "The institution of a free and independent press is under siege
in this country."
