The Justice Department is officially dropping its demand that New York Times reporter James Risen reveal a confidential source for a book and articles he wrote.
At a hearing Tuesday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, prosecutors are asking a judge to approve a limited subpoena of Risen, according to a U.S. official close to the matter. The subpoena is for testimony in the leak prosecution of Jeffrey Sterling, a former CIA officer, who the Justice Department accuses of providing information to Risen.
The case has become a high profile test for the Justice Department and how it deals with reporters on leak investigations.
The new Justice Department subpoena is now seeking that Risen verify that he wrote the book “State of War” and two articles in the New York Times in 2001-2002, that the published material is accurate, that he has a confidential source he won’t identify, and that Risen verify that Sterling provided on-the-record quotes published in a New York Times article.
The subpoena omits any request for the name of his source and of any information that could lead to the identity. Previously the Justice Department contemplated asking Risen to provide the time and location of where he was, when he received the leaked information, a prospect that risked indirectly identifying Risen’s source.
The information requested in the new subpoena appears to align with information Risen has said in court filings he is willing to provide.
Risen has vowed never to reveal his source for information on a failed CIA operation to sabotage Iran’s nuclear program.
Attorney General Eric Holder for months has said that he wouldn’t force a reporter to go to jail over a source.
Recently Justice Department lawyers proposed dropping the request to identify the source, but still push for the time and location information.
Deputy Attorney General James Cole advised Holder to not approve the time and location request because Risen would likely still refuse to provide that testimony.