Freedom to Probe

A court battle over pretrial publicity and the protection of newsmen's sources was avoided last week because of Spiro Agnew's resignation. The subpoenas that had been issued to journalists became moot. The basic issues, however, remain very much alive.

In a memorandum filed with the federal district court in Maryland before the resignation, the Justice Department--some of whose officials had also been subpoenaed by Agnew's attorneys--set forth some stinging arguments against this kind of judicial interference. The department pointed out that "publicity about the criminal investigation of any newsworthy person is all too likely, and some of that publicity will almost inevitably be unfavorable." But the department argued that news stories do not necessarily prevent fair proceedings and noted that grand jurors' exposure to prejudicial publicity "has never been considered a proper ground even for dismissal of an indictment."

While stressing the need for grand jury secrecy, the department contended that prying out confidential news sources is too high a price to pay. "We have supported the right of courts to the testimony of newsmen when its relevance and importance were plain," the department said. "We have never supported incursions into this sensitive area for the mere purpose of conducting fishing expeditions, and it is plain that that is all that is involved here."

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