Free Congress Foundation's Notable News Now August 14, 2001 The Free Congress Commentary All Aspects of Freedom Come at a Price By Paul M. Weyrich Vanessa Leggett has written a book about a notorious murder in the southwest United States. The government wants her to reveal her sources. Vanessa is now sitting in jail awaiting a court of appeals decision on whether or not she is a legitimate journalist. The Justice Department calls her a "court groupie" and claims she is not really a journalist. The Department admits that it makes a determination as to who is or is not a journalist on a case by case basis. There is a lot of sympathy for the government's position. Journalists are not all that popular with the public. Moreover, the average American, confronted with the reality of crime in their communities, says if a journalist has information on who committed a murder he should be required to turn that information over to the police. The Justice Department is just plain wrong in this case. Some 20 different groups representing journalists all over the world have weighed in on behalf of Mrs. Leggett. As much as the journalism profession has much to be ashamed of, especially these days, they are quite correct in seeing this as a fundamental challenge to the first amendment. I have some expertise in this area, as someone who was a working reporter for some seven years. I covered some very controversial cases. One of them involved the murder of Kenosha, Wisconsin jukebox dealer Anthony Biernat whose body was found in a lime-covered grave at the abandoned Bong Air Force Base in Western Kenosha County. He had refused to make payments to the Mafia. They wanted to make him an example. I had sources confide in me the name of the person who kidnapped Biernat from the North Shore railway station back in January of 1963. They never would have talked to me if they thought I had to disclose their names to police. I had other tips as well, that I never would have received had the sources not been assured that who gave me the information would go with me to the grave. Those tips led to the removal of the City Clerk in Franklin, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee, for vote fraud, and the removal of a city councilman in Milwaukee for violating the city charter. Journalists have to be protected from disclosing their sources or we will cease to have a free press in this nation. If, on occasion, that means law enforcement authorities are deprived of some information regarding a crime here and there, so be it. All aspects of freedom come at a price. Is Mrs. Leggett a real journalist? By any reasonable measure she is. She is the editor of a web publication. She has written academic papers, including co-authoring one presented at the FBI Academy. She has gathered real information for her book and appears to have a publisher. Just because she doesn't work for a daily newspaper or television station doesn't mean that she lacks proper credentials. Let us hope the court of appeals affirms the right of Mrs. Leggett to claim to be a journalist. If not, she says she is prepared to stay in jail until the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirms the First Amendment. Her fight is a fight for all of us in the long run. We should not permit the blatant abuses fostered by some journalists, which causes us to rightly distrust them, to cloud what is truly a very clear issue. Paul Weyrich is president of the Free Congress Foundation. For media inquiries, contact Steve Lilienthal [EMAIL PROTECTED] For other questions or comments, contact Angie Wheeler [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit Our Website at http://www.FreeCongress.org This publication is a service of the Free Congress Research and Education Foundation, Inc. (FCF) and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Free Congress Foundation nor is it an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any bill. Free Congress Foundation * 717 Second Street, NE * Washington, DC 20002 * 202.546.3000 * Fax: 202.544..2819 Project Manager: Angela Wheeler * Copyright * 2001 Free Congress Foundation - All Rights Reserved.
