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thedrifter
06-17-09, 07:40 AM
Reporter must appear in military court
Published: June 16, 2009 at 7:18 PM

A reporter for the San Diego Union-Tribune must obey a military subpoena and testify in a court-martial, a military judge has ruled.

Cmdr. Kevin O'Neil said Monday Rick Rogers' First Amendment rights were outweighed by the right of Pvt. Gary Maziarz to a fair trial, the Union-Tribune reported.

Maziarz is accused of willfully disobeying a direct order not to speak to the press about a 2007 case concerning a group of Marines who allegedly shared top-secret intelligence files with civilian law enforcement. The files pertained to individuals under surveillance and were given to a Los Angeles police agency.

The private said he was never ordered not to talk to the press and he did so with the full knowledge of his military-appointed attorney. His current attorney says Rogers' testimony is needed to display Maziarz was not disobeying an order.

The Union-Tribune attempted to quash the subpoena.

Ellie