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October 7, 2008 1:09:05 PM CDT

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Reporter Held in Contempt in Anthrax Story

Posted Mar 8, 08 7:16 AM CST in Arts & Living,  Crime & Courts,  US 

(Newser) – A judge yesterday held a former USA Today reporter in contempt of court for refusing to disclose her sources in stories about the 2001 anthrax attacks, the AP reports. He also ordered her to pay daily fines reaching $5,000 out of her own pocket until she cooperates . The reporter wrote about an ex-Army scientist under scrutiny in the attacks.

The scientist, Steven J. Hatfill, is now suing the government for violation of his privacy. The court has ruled that journalists must identify the government sources who spoke to them about Hatfill. The reporter, Toni Locy, called the judge's ruling a "draconian sanction" and says she cannot remember who spoke to her about Hatfill.

Source Associated Press

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A letter sent to Sen. Patrick Leahy is shown after being opened at Ft. Detrick, Maryland, Wednesday, December 5, 2001. The letter has tested positive for anthrax spores.   (KRT Photos)
MARGATE, FL -- Broward County, Florida, technicians Mike Silvestri and Neil Colosi finish checking out a mail box on October 16, 2001, where a postal worker discovered a powdery substance.   (KRT Photos)
BORDENTOWN, NJ-- Postal officer John McCoy loads the day's deliveries into his mail truck.   (KRT Photos)
KANSAS CITY, MO -- Dan Johnson of Birmingham, Alabama, leaves the Kansas City branch of the Missouri Health Department on Thursday, November 1, 2001, with one week's supply of Doxycycline and an instr   (KRT Photos)
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September 11  • journalism  • anthrax  • John Ashcroft  • journalistic ethics


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