Is Columbia political blogger going to jail for not revealing sources on a story?
State Judge William Keesley declined Wednesday to provide an immediate ruling on whether to hold Columbia political blogger Will Folks in contempt of court.
Johnny Parker, an attorney for former state Rep. Kenny Bingham, R-Lexington, had asked Keesley to punish Folks for not disclosing the identities of several confidential sources in articles Folks wrote in the spring of 2015 on his Internet news-opinion site, Fits News.
In the articles, those confidential sources had predicted a criminal indictment of Bingham. No indictment was forthcoming. Bingham then sued Folks for libel and, as part of pretrial legal discovery, has demanded to know who Folks’ sources are.
“The court should invoke a fine or imprisonment or a combination of both to force him to comply,” said Parker, of Hampton, who is known throughout the state for the multimillion-dollar verdicts he has won for years for plaintiffs in civil cases.
At the hearing, Parker called Folks to the witness stand and grilled him for more than 20 minutes.
“You contend you’re a reporter, correct?” Parker asked.
“I report and editorialize, yes, sir,” Folks replied.
Parker: “As a reporter, you realize the importance of getting things accurate?”
Folks: “Yes, sir.”
Under questioning, Folks, 42, described his news site as “an online media publication,” told Parker his sources did not want their identities revealed and added, “I believe I am duty-bound not to break my covenant with those sources.”
Folks said he would not divulge his sources, even though “I don’t want to go to jail and miss my wife and kids.” He also refused to acknowledge his writings about Bingham were wrong and indicated that Bingham may yet be caught in some misconduct.
“I believe the investigation (a State Grand Jury probe into public corruption) into these matters is ongoing,” Folks told Parker.
In the articles, based on confidential sources, Folks wrote that one source told him that Bingham, then chairman of the House Ethics Committee, had ignored allegations of legislative misconduct, and other sources had told him “serious ethical allegations” had been made against Bingham.
Bingham’s suit also alleges one story falsely implied he “has engaged in conduct for which he could be criminally indicted.”
The case embodies a clash of First Amendment journalists’ rights to publish controversial stories against the right of plaintiffs to seek lawsuit-related information in discovery, a pretrial process in which plaintiffs have the right to compel the production of undisclosed evidence.
Under U.S. Supreme Court decisions, journalists can be held liable for unknowingly publishing false information about public figures such as Bingham, but only if the journalists don’t have legitimate reasons for doing so and act with what is called “a reckless disregard for truth.” Proving “reckless disregard for truth” is a standard set high to encourage healthy and robust debate about public issues, courts have said.
Another wrinkle in the case is that Folks is no ordinary journalist. His news posts are a mix of on-the-money scoops and anonymous-source speculation – sometimes right, sometimes half-right and sometimes not – that can lack the dimensions of context and representation of other sides of a story that traditional journalists usually provide. His website, fitsnews.com, boasts as its motto “Unfair, Imbalanced.”
On the stand, Folks told Parker his website is “a hybrid that offers news in some instances, and editorial commentary in others, and sometimes mingles them together.”
Also in court on Wednesday was Rep. Bruce Bannister, R-Greenville, a lawyer who said he represented one of Folks’ confidential sources. That person does not want his identity revealed, Bannister said. Bannister’s statements were the first time a third party has publicly confirmed that an actual confidential source existed.
Folks testified that if he breached confidentiality, he would be breaking a contract he had with his sources and would do irreparable harm to his reputation as a media person who makes his living by gathering and disseminating information.
Folks was represented by former U.S. Attorney Pete Strom and Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort.
At hearing’s end, Keesley told attorneys for both sides they were to submit proposed orders for him to review by July 7.
This story was originally published June 28, 2017 at 11:51 AM with the headline "Is Columbia political blogger going to jail for not revealing sources on a story?."