Graham backs press's right to shield sources

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The Seneca Republican is a major sponsor of legislation that would establish a federal shield law that would allow reporters in many cases to withhold the identities of confidential sources from prosecutors without fear of being jailed.

Amid a rash of cases in which reporters are facing jail for refusing to reveal the identity of their sources promised confidentiality, Graham said Thursday that the balance has tipped too far against the media's rightful role.

He warned that aggressive "judges are going to destroy a 200-year tradition that's served the public well."

Graham continues to set himself apart from fellow Republicans in Washington, said John Simpkins, a political scientist and associate director of Furman University's Richard W. Riley Institute.

"While (Graham's) position is consistent with other stands he's taken against government excess, such as in the prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib, his support of the Free Flow of Information Act has the added benefit of further raising his national profile."

Graham said the public should not be indifferent to the issue because it has a crucial stake in the outcome.

"How many times has the public been a beneficiary of some reporter or news organization finding out that your (tax) money has been poorly spent? How many times has the public benefited from a news investigation that found out some powerful person was using the government to enhance their own life against the best interests of the many?" he asked.

'In the crosshairs'

"I understand that in a democracy, if you do not have First Amendment scrutinizing the powerful institutions of government then average, everyday people lose a lot," he said. "It's important that the media can scrutinize the government and in a reasonable fashion, protect those who may be in the crosshairs of the powerful."

Graham was an early co-sponsor of S.340, a bill filed by Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Indiana. The others are Democrat Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Republican Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island.

"You want to make sure the media has relationships so they can report what's going on," Graham said. "The reason judges are basically declaring war on confidentiality, I don't know. But it's a phenomenon that's gotten our attention."

Adam Temple, a spokesman for Republican U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint of Greenville, said DeMint was reviewing the bill, but has not taken a position on it.

A companion bill has been introduced in the House with Rep. John M. Spratt Jr., D-S.C., as one of 14 co-sponsors.

Bills in committee

The bills are now before the House and Senate Judiciary committees. They are expected to receive hearings this year, but no vote is likely until 2006, analysts have said.

Other legislation that would open more government records faster by amending the Freedom of Information Act is now before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee. That bill, the Open Government Act of 2005, is backed by a broad coalition of groups, including some that seldom see eye to eye, the Heritage Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union among them.

Currently, 16 reporters and 14 news organizations around the country are in legal fights over releasing the names of confidential sources. The range is broad, from municipal corruption to a potentially illegal White House leak.

Jim Taricani, an investigative reporter for Providence's WJAR-TV, is under six months house arrest on a criminal contempt citation after refusing to provide information about a videotape of a city official allegedly taking a cash bribe. Taricani is scheduled to speak to the South Carolina Associated Press Broadcasters annual meeting on April 23 in Myrtle Beach — if he wins early release.

On the high-profile end, there is the case of Judith Miller of The New York Times and Matthew Cooper of Time magazine. They have refused to reveal their sources to prosecutors investigating who in the Bush administration may have leaked the name of an undercover CIA agent. Both have been cited for contempt of court.

Unfavorable rulings

Media analysts say that a 2003 federal appeals court ruling in Chicago that journalists should be subject to subpoenas like any other potential witnesses has increased the media's vulnerability.

Throughout the U.S. this week, journalism newsrooms and organizations are recognizing the importance of open records laws in the United States by publishing stories and conducting seminars and conferences on freedom of information and secrecy.

Under the Lugar-Graham bill, withholding information wouldn't receive total protection. A court could compel testimony if it finds "clear and convincing evidence" that efforts to obtain the information from other sources were unsuccessful, there are reasonable grounds to believe a crime has taken place or in a civil case that the testimony or document is essential to adjudication.

Thirty-one states have reporters' shield laws, but they are inconsistent and do not apply in federal courts, according to the Reporters' Committee for Freedom of the Press.

Uneven field

Graham, who has a 92 percent lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union, said as a conservative, he wants to protect the public from abuse by powerful interests that may dominate institutions and issues.

"That's why conservatives ought to be very much for the media to be able to scrutinize what the government does because the government can help you, it can take your money, send your kids off to war, regulate everything about who you are and what you believe. The fact that we've got a bunch of eyes up here watching is a good thing."

Dan Hoover covers politics and can be reached at 298-4883.