Obama DOJ pursues seven-year subpoena fight to compel NYT reporter James Risen to testify against CIA source
Beginning in April 2010, the Obama Department of Justice issued grand jury and trial subpoenas to New York Times reporter James Risen seeking to compel his testimony in the prosecution of former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling for the leak of details about a CIA operation targeting Iran's nuclear program. Risen refused throughout. The Fourth Circuit ruled against him in 2013; the Supreme Court denied certiorari in 2014. AG Eric Holder ultimately announced in January 2015 that the DOJ would not call Risen to testify.
Dates: First grand jury subpoena April 2010; trial subpoena June 2011; Fourth Circuit ruling July 19, 2013 (United States v. Sterling, 724 F.3d 482); Supreme Court cert denied June 2, 2014 (Risen v. United States, No. 13-1009); Holder announced DOJ would not call Risen January 2015; Sterling convicted January 26, 2015. Individuals and organizations: James Risen (NYT); Jeffrey Sterling (former CIA officer, defendant); AG Eric Holder; U.S. Attorney for EDVA Neil MacBride; prosecutor Eric Olshan. What happened: Risen had reported in his 2006 book State of War on 'Operation Merlin,' a CIA effort to feed flawed nuclear blueprints to Iran. Sterling was indicted under the Espionage Act in 2010 as the alleged source. DOJ issued multiple subpoenas to compel Risen's testimony. The Fourth Circuit held there was no First Amendment or common-law reporter's privilege in criminal proceedings. Supreme Court declined to take the case. Despite winning the legal fight, AG Holder ultimately declined to call Risen at trial. Legal authority used: Federal grand jury subpoenas and trial subpoenas under Rule 17, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Outcome: Risen never testified. Sterling convicted on nine Espionage Act counts; sentenced to 42 months. Subpoena effectively withdrawn at trial. Why it matters: Confidential sources were at issue. The case is the defining modern reporter-privilege battle and produced the controlling Fourth Circuit precedent rejecting any privilege in federal criminal cases. The eventual DOJ stand-down established a pattern other administrations would invoke but also break.