A federal district judge ruled that former Detroit Free Press reporter David Ashenfelter could use the Fifth Amendment to refuse to release the name of a source in an article about Richard Covertino, a former U.S. attorney who was under investigation for mishandling a terrorism trial. Covertino sued the Department of Justice for an alleged illegal leak of information to Ashenfelter. (Detroit Free Press, November 25, 2013, by Jim Schaefer)
“Ashenfelter claimed the[Fifth Amendment] privilege after Convertino, on his web page, had accused Ashenfelter of protecting criminals – those who had leaked the existence of the Convertino investigation to Ashenfelter,” wrote Allan Lengel, November 26, 2013, in Deadline Detroit.
During earlier litigation over the case, the First Amendment Coalition went on the record in support of a Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press statement urging the passage of a federal shield law to protect reporters and their sources. (First Amendment Coalition, April 21, 2009, press release)