Turnabout: Melton Changes Story About Leak
In a chain of events reminiscent of New York Times reporter Judith Miller being jailed over an unnamed source in the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame, Clarion-Ledger Washington bureau reporter Ana Radelat last week filed notice of appeal to the Mississippi Supreme Court to avoid revealing an unnamed source used in an April 18, 2003, article. The appeal came after Lauderdale County Circuit Judge Robert Bailey ordered the reporter to disclose her source in a pending civil case, holding that her First Amendment right to refuse to disclose confidential sources was “not absolute.”
Also reminiscent of the Plame case, the protected source – Mayor Frank Melton – has chosen to relieve the reporter of her burden, instead revealing himself to the court, even though he previously denied under oath what he is now admitting.
JacksonFreePress
7/20/5
