In a story by the The Wall Street Journal about the legal ramifications of the U.S. Justice Department’s secret subpoena of Associated Press phone line records, Grady College telecommunications professor William Lee told the newspaper that the AP might have a difficult time building a case against the government if it attempted to sue.
It appears right now that the law and past Supreme Court cases are on the side of the Justice Department.
At issue, said Lee, is whether any government investigation sought to “harass the press or disrupt relations with sources.
“As long as the government can show that it is investigating a crime, and not using the investigation as a pretext to pry into journalist-source relations, it will be considered as being in good faith,” Lee said.
