A federal judge has ruled that in suing Goldman Sachs, a couple cannot subpoena a reporter to show how easily a Wall Street Journal reporter obtained information. The couple had lost millions in a merger deal made with advice from Goldman Sachs. The couple claimed that the reporter had obtained crucial information that Goldman Sachs should also have been able to obtain.
Douglas E. Lee of the First Amendment Center quotes the judge who ruled that reporters enjoy privilege from revealing confidential information. The judge said, “Plaintiffs have not demonstrated how testimony about a journalist’s investigative techniques and process of reporting are a relevant comparison to Goldman Sachs’ duty of care in this situation. The fact that the Wall Street Journal conducted an investigation into L&H sheds no light on the scope of Goldman’s obligations to Dragon and the Plaintiffs.”
From a commentary for the First Amendment Center, April 18, 2011, by Douglas E. Lee.
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