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Senators Question DOJ on Anderson ProbeAt a June 6 hearing examining the FBI’s attempt to gain access to the papers of the late investigative journalist Jack Anderson, the Senate Judiciary Committee criticized the recalcitrance of a Justice Department official testifying on the efforts.Matthew Friedrich, chief of the Justice Department’s criminal division, refused to comment on the Anderson case, leading Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to ask, “Why in heaven’s name were you sent up here? Are there any questions you guys are allowed to answer other than your title, time of day?” The senators questioned whether World War I–era espionage laws allow for the prosecution of journalists who publish classified information, the Associated Press reported June 7. Friedrich maintained that the laws “do not exempt any class of professionals, including reporters, from their reach.” However, committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) countered, “It’s highly doubtful in my mind that that was ever the intent of Congress.” Anderson’s son Kevin told the committee that he and his mother are prepared to defy the FBI over the matter. “The family has met and decided that we would not abide by a subpoena if one were issued by the FBI,” he said. The family is in the process of donating the papers to George Washington University library. Posted June 9, 2006. |
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