By Zachary Coile
San Francisco Chronicle
Sept. 23, 2006
Excerpt:
The Republican sponsor of a House bill
to create a federal shield law for journalists said Friday the
threatened imprisonment of Chronicle
reporters Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada for refusing to name
their confidential sources shows precisely why the law is needed.
Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana was reacting to the news Thursday that U.S.
District Judge Jeffrey White had sided with federal prosecutors and
sentenced the two reporters to up to 18 months in prison for refusing
to identify their sources for federal grand jury testimony that
revealed some of the nation's top sports stars used illegal steroids.
"Once again, the sad image of American journalists behind bars is being
projected to the world," Pence said in a statement released Friday.
"American reporters should not be jailed to force them to reveal
confidential sources, but current law permits prosecutors to do just
that."
