Virginia reporter won't be jailed
By The Associated Press
08.07.02
ABINGDON, Va. — A federal judge decided not to jail a Bristol Herald Courier reporter yesterday after an Abingdon woman identified herself as the confidential source used in a series of articles about an apparent terrorism investigation.
Reporter Chris Dumond, 23, refused to cooperate with U.S. Magistrate Judge Pamela Sargent in July after she demanded information about a sealed arrest warrant he used as the basis of his stories.
Sargent had threatened to jail Dumond and fine him up to $5,000 if he did not comply.
About an hour before the hearing, Nancy McNey of Abingdon told the judge that she showed Dumond the warrant that detailed the arrest of Dr. Tajammul H. Bhatti.
"I'm glad she confessed," Dumond said after the hearing. "But if she hadn't I would still have protected her."
Bhatti, 65, was arrested in June and questioned by a federal grand jury for undisclosed reasons. Authorities have not commented about the investigation, and the judge has prohibited Bhatti's lawyers from speaking about the case.
Dumond said he first learned about the investigation after Bhatti's son faxed the Bristol Herald Courier with information about the arrest. He provided a list of people who would corroborate his claim, including McNey, a friend of the doctor.
Using information he gleaned from McNey, Dumond reported on June 26 that the Pakistani-born psychiatrist has been accused of knowing about unspecified terrorist activities and the development of weapons of mass destruction.
Bhatti, who has not been charged with a crime, testified before a federal grand jury last month. Prosecutors would not say whether the panel acted on that testimony.
Sargent, who was preparing to question everyone who may have seen the warrant to find out the source of the leak, thanked McNey for coming forward.
"Neither she nor (Dumond) knew at the time that it was under seal and information that could not be shared," Sargent said.
Bhatti and his lawyer Dennis Jones also were facing penalties for talking about the case with reporters. But Sargent decided at yesterday's hearing that they were not intentionally trying to flout the rules of the court.
Besides, Sargent said, Bhatti already is being penalized enough by the ignominy that comes with publicizing his arrest.
"He's the one who has to live with that," she said.