CNN Statement: We Won't Pay

June 02, 2006 6:35 PM

Brian Ross Reports:

A sharp "philosophical disagreement" between some of the country's top media companies led CNN to reject today's settlement with Wen Ho Lee, according to a statement issued by CNN this afternoon.

Reporters from five media outlets had been facing severe sanctions, including possible jail time, for refusing to divulge their confidential sources in a privacy lawsuit brought by Lee against the Department of Justice.

CNN, in a statement, said it disagreed with the other media companies about "whether it was appropriate to pay money to Wen Ho Lee or anyone else to get out from under a subpoena."
CNN said it had spent more than a million dollars in legal fees to defend Pierre Thomas, who worked at CNN when he filed the stories in question and had been held in contempt by a federal court.

Thomas now works at ABC News, which agreed to contribute to the settlement on his behalf.  The government paid $895,000 to resolve Lee's claims, and the media companies and their reporters contributed an additional $750,000 to avoid further contempt sanctions for protecting confidential sources.

Henry Hoberman, an ABC senior vice president, said, "After fighting the contempt sanctions in the courts for years without the benefit of a federal shield law, and getting no relief, the journalists reluctantly concluded that the only way to protect the promise of confidentiality between the reporters and their sources and avoid escalating penalties, including possible jail time, was to be part of the settlement between the government and Wen Ho Lee."

"Obviously I'm relieved," said ABC News' Pierre Thomas this afternoon after learning of the settlement. "This has been a difficult ordeal for me professionally and for my family.  I want to thank CNN for supporting my legal fight for more than 4 years, my attorneys for their skillful advocacy, and the entire ABC News team -- led by President David Westin -- for their unwavering support of my efforts to protect the confidentiality of my sources."

Thomas added, "Here I was reporting the story fairly and accurately, pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of the government's case, and I was being asked to reveal the identities of people who were making sure I was doing the right thing, the right way."

Along with ABC News, The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and the Associated Press contributed to the settlement.

June 2, 2006 in Wen Ho Lee | Permalink | User Comments (10)

Pierre Thomas Reacts To Lee Settlement

June 02, 2006 6:01 PM

Brian Ross and Maddy Sauer Report:

"Obviously I'm relieved. This has been a difficult ordeal for me professionally and for my family,” said ABC News' Pierre Thomas this afternoon after learning of the settlement.

"I want to thank CNN for supporting my legal fight for more than 4 years. I want to thank my attorney Charles Tobin and Ted Olson, who worked on the filings before the Supreme Court. I especially want to thank ABC News President David Westin for his unwavering support in my efforts to protect the confidentiality of my sources. Thanks as well to the ABC News legal team led by Henry Hoberman."

Thomas added, "Here I was reporting the story fairly and accurately, pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of the government's case, and I was being asked to reveal the identities of people who were making sure I was doing the right thing, the right way."

June 2, 2006 in Wen Ho Lee | Permalink | User Comments (1)

Government and News Organizations Settle with Wen Ho Lee; Reporters Kept Out of Jail

June 02, 2006 4:02 PM

Brian Ross Reports:

Convicted scientist Wen Ho Lee reached an out-of-court settlement with the Department of Justice and five media organizations that keeps reporters from being sent to jail for refusing to disclose their sources in a privacy lawsuit Lee had brought against the government. The total settlement was in the amount of $1.645 million with the news organizations paying $750,000 of that to Lee.

The settlement ends the prospect that reporters, including Pierre Thomas of ABC News, could be sent to jail for protecting their sources.

Although the news media organizations were not named in Lee's lawsuit, the five organizations issued a joint statement.

"To facilitate the resolution of the case, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Associated Press, The Washington Post, and ABC agreed to pay a total of $750,000 to Wen Ho Lee," the statement said. "We did so to protect our confidential sources, to protect our journalists from further sanction and possible imprisonment and to protect our news organizations from potential exposure."

CNN, where Thomas worked when he did stories on Lee, refused to be part of the settlement.

Lee alleged the government violated his privacy right by giving reporters information about an espionage investigation of him. Lee was never charged with espionage and later pleaded guilty to one count of improperly downloading classified information.

Lee's lawsuit did not target news organizations, but reporters were being held in contempt by the judge and faced jail because they had refused to divulge sources who provided information about a federal investigation of Lee.

June 2, 2006 in Wen Ho Lee | Permalink | User Comments (1)

Wen Ho Lee Settlement

June 02, 2006 3:15 PM

Brian Ross Reports:

Nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee reached an out-of-court settlement with the Department of Justice and five news media organizations in a privacy lawsuit he brought that led to reporters being held in contempt for refusing to divulge their confidential sources.  The settlement ends a prospect that the reporters, including Pierre Thomas of ABC News, could be sent to jail for protecting their sources.

The news media organizations were not named in Lee's lawsuit, but they, according to the lawyers, contributed to the settlement paid to Lee in an undisclosed amount.

CNN, where Thomas worked when he did his stories on Lee, refused to be part of the settlement. A joint announcement is expected within the hour.

June 2, 2006 in Wen Ho Lee | Permalink | User Comments (1)

Supreme Court Delays Ruling on Reporters

May 30, 2006 1:01 PM

Brian Ross Reports:

With settlement talks in their final stages, the Supreme Court today again delayed ruling in a case involving four prominent reporters, confidential sources and nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee.

The reporters have refused to divulge their sources to Lee, who is suing the Department of Justice for disclosing information about an espionage investigation of him.

Negotiations have been underway for more than two weeks involving Lee, the government and the reporters' news media companies.

The reporters include Pierre Thomas of ABC News, who worked at CNN at the time he filed his stories on Lee.

Lee was never charged with espionage and alleges the government violated his privacy rights by giving information to reporters about the case.

May 30, 2006 in Wen Ho Lee | Permalink | User Comments (2)

Showdown for Reporters in Wen Ho Lee Case

May 29, 2006 1:14 PM

Brian Ross Reports:

Unless there is a last minute settlement, the Supreme Court is expected to decide today whether contempt orders against four prominent reporters, including Pierre Thomas of ABC News, should stay in place if they continue to refuse to name their confidential sources in a civil lawsuit brought against the government by nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee.

Legal experts say if the Supreme Court rules against the reporters, they may be forced to consider a cash payout to Lee as the only way to protect their confidential sources and avoid penalties which could include jail.

Efforts by the government and the media companies to settle the case out of court were reported to be continuing over the Memorial Day weekend.

The Supreme Court delayed a decision last week when Lee’s lawyers, in a letter to the court, said a settlement “may be imminent.”

Lawyers said the settlement talks are bogged down and complicated by the reluctance of some parties to settle.

If the court rules against the reporters by refusing to hear the appeal of a lower court decision, Lee’s lawyers may demand a larger settlement from the media companies.

The reporters includes James Risen of the New York Times, H. Josef Hebert of the Associated Press, Bob Drogin of the Los Angles Times and ABC News’ Thomas, who worked for CNN at the time he filed his Lee stories.

Lee alleges the government violated his privacy rights by giving reporters information about an espionage investigation of him.

Lee was never charged with espionage and later pleaded guilty to one count of improperly downloading classified information.   

May 29, 2006 in Wen Ho Lee | Permalink | User Comments (3)