US: Judge holds reporter in contempt of court for refusing to reveal sources
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A US judge held a former reporter in contempt of court and ordered her to pay up to $5,000 a day if she refuses to identify her sources for stories about a former Army scientist under scrutiny in the 2001 anthrax attacks.
US District Judge Reggie B. Walton said Friday that former USA Today reporter Toni Locy must pay fines out of her own pocket as long as she continues to defy his order that she cooperate in scientist Steven J. Hatfill's lawsuit against the government.
Hatfill accuses the Justice Department of violating his privacy by discussing the investigation with reporters.
Locy had asked that a contempt citation be delayed while she appeals to the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The judge refused.