The Volokh Conspiracy - James Risen Subpoenaed:

The New York Times reports on an interesting development in the investigation of leaks concerning classified counter-terrorism programs.

A federal grand jury has issued a subpoena to a reporter of The New York Times, apparently to try to force him to reveal his confidential sources for a 2006 book on the Central Intelligence Agency, one of the reporter's lawyers said Thursday. . . .

Mr. Risen's lawyer, David N. Kelley, who was the United States attorney in Manhattan early in the Bush administration, said in an interview that the subpoena sought the source of information for a specific chapter of the book "State of War."

The chapter asserted that the C.I.A. had unsuccessfully tried, beginning in the Clinton administration, to infiltrate Iran's nuclear program. None of the material in that chapter appeared in The New York Times. . . .

Mr. Risen, who is based in Washington and specializes in intelligence issues, is the latest of several reporters to face subpoenas in leak investigations overseen by the Justice Department. . . .

Ms. Mathis would not say why the material about the C.I.A. program involving Iran appeared in Mr. Risen's book but not in pages of The Times. "We don't discuss matters not published in The Times," she said.

The Justice Department would not comment on the work of the grand jury that issued the subpoena to Mr. Risen. "The department does not comment on pending investigations," said Peter Carr, a spokesman.

	[Jonathan Adler, January 31, 2008 at 10:51pm] Trackbacks James Risen Subpoenaed: The New York Times reports on an interesting development in the investigation of leaks concerning classified counter-terrorism programs. A federal grand jury has issued a subpoena to a reporter of The New York Times, apparently to try to force him to reveal his confidential sources for a 2006 book on the Central Intelligence Agency, one of the reporter's lawyers said Thursday. . . . Mr. Risen's lawyer, David N. Kelley, who was the United States attorney in Manhattan early in the Bush administration, said in an interview that the subpoena sought the source of information for a specific chapter of the book "State of War." The chapter asserted that the C.I.A. had unsuccessfully tried, beginning in the Clinton administration, to infiltrate Iran's nuclear program. None of the material in that chapter appeared in The New York Times. . . . Mr. Risen, who is based in Washington and specializes in intelligence issues, is the latest of several reporters to face subpoenas in leak investigations overseen by the Justice Department. . . . Ms. Mathis would not say why the material about the C.I.A. program involving Iran appeared in Mr. Risen's book but not in pages of The Times. "We don't discuss matters not published in The Times," she said. The Justice Department would not comment on the work of the grand jury that issued the subpoena to Mr. Risen. "The department does not comment on pending investigations," said Peter Carr, a spokesman.