July 1, 2005—The Supreme Court’s recent refusal to review the convictions of journalists Judith Miller and Matthew Cooper means that Miller and Cooper may soon be ordered to serve jail time. And they may not be alone: The day after the Supreme Court announced it would not hear that Miller’s and Cooper’s case, contempt orders against four reporters in a civil suit brought by scientist Wen Ho Lee were upheld by a federal court in Washington D.C., meaning that the United States could soon have six journalists in prison for refusing to disclose confidential sources.

PEN strongly supports legislation now pending in the U.S. Congress to extend to journalists at the federal level the same protections they enjoy under laws effective in 49 states and the District of Columbia. These state “shield laws” 1) ensure that journalists can honor assurances of confidentiality for sources; and 2) define the circumstances under which law enforcement, prosecutors, and others may compel journalists to surrender confidential information or material. These laws work well and have strong support at the state level, both from press advocates and prosecutors: 34 State Attorneys General filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of Miller and Cooper asking the Supreme Court to hear their case and supporting federal shield protections for journalists. The Free Flow of Information Act of 2005, which is currently before Congress, would protect Miller, Cooper, and other journalists in their position.

The possibility that the United States may soon join a company of nations in which journalists are imprisoned for carrying out their work has set off alarms in the United States and around the world. Eduardo Bertoni, the Special Rapporteur from the Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, said in a statement released today:

"In furtherance of the public’s right to information, it is imperative that journalists retain the right to confidentiality of sources. This concept is supported by Principle 8 of the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression of the IACHR, which asserts, “Every social communicator has the right to keep his/her source of information, notes, personal and professional archives confidential. The right to confidentiality is essential to a journalist’s work in performing the important public service of collecting and disseminating information. The threat of legal action against journalists and/or their sources will ultimately produce a chilling effect on news media and will lead to a less informed general public. The Special Rapporteur is concerned that without legal guarantees of a journalist’s right to confidentiality, freedom of the press in the United States is at risk."

We need your help today! Please write your U.S. Senators and Representatives today to urge them to pass the Free Flow of Information Act of 2005.

July 11, 2005—Tomorrow, the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees will separately consider legislation that re-authorizes the expiring sections of the USA PATRIOT Act, including the one that concerns us most, Section 215.

It is critical to contact members of both committees today. While we won an important battle last month when the House voted to block funds for bookstore and library searches under Section 215, we said at the time that the real fight would be over the re-authorization. The bill pending before the judiciary committee, H.R. 3199, extends all of the expiring PATRIOT Act sections and must pass before the end of the year. We have not seen the bill that will be reviewed by the intelligence committee. We’re not even certain to see it tomorrow. The meeting is being held in secret!

We are entering the final phase of a tough fight. President Bush has insisted on re-authorizing the PATRIOT Act without any changes, and his position has been strengthened in the aftermath of the terrible London bombings. It is important to tell Congress not to make the same mistake that it made following the September 11 attacks by compromising civil liberties without providing any real protection against terrorism. This may be our last chance to influence legislation in the House.

Please call or fax the Washington offices of the members of the House and Senate committees, particularly if your representative is one of them. Urge them to fight to restore the protections for reader privacy that were eliminated by the PATRIOT Act.