The battle to force a reporter to disclose sources continues in Detroit. Here’s the latest.
By ED WHITE
DETROIT — A lawyer asked a judge Tuesday to declare a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter in contempt for refusing during a court-ordered deposition to reveal unnamed sources who leaked information about a terrorism prosecutor.
A lawyer for former federal prosecutor Richard Convertino asked that reporter David Ashenfelter of the Detroit Free Press be fined $500 to $5,000 per day until he divulges who in the U.S. Justice Department helped him with a 2004 story about an ethics investigation.
Ashenfelter, 60, invoked the First Amendment and the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a deposition Dec. 8. Two federal judges had ordered him to comply with a subpoena for information.
“It is important that Mr. Ashenfelter’s defiance come to a very rapid end,” Convertino’s attorney, Stephen Kohn, said in a filing in federal court.
“This discovery dispute has gone on for nearly 18 months, during which time Mr. Ashenfelter has repeatedly demonstrated his willingness to make frivolous and unfounded arguments whose only purpose is to cause delay and drive up costs,” Kohn said.
For Full Story Read Convertino’s Motion
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