March 17, 2010
PA subpoena for reporter’s testimony shelved
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A federal magistrate ruled that the Palestinian Authority cannot force a reporter from The Atlantic magazine to testify in a terror-related lawsuit, Politico reported.
Jeffrey Goldberg, a national correspondent for The Atlantic, was subpoenaed recently by the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization, which demanded that he testify about his relationship with Moshe Saperstein, a Jewish settler suing over a terrorist attack in the West Bank in 2002.
Magistrate Judge John Facciola in Washington granted Goldberg’s motion to quash the subpoena, stating that Goldberg had a qualified reporter’s privilege and, while he could possibly shed light on Saperstein’s credibility, it was not worth the hassle of bringing Goldberg into the case.
Goldberg had interviewed Saperstein for a New Yorker article published in 2004 and had worked with Saperstein at the Jerusalem Post. Goldberg claimed not to have direct knowledge of the shooting attack in 2002, when Saperstein attempted to run over a terrorist who had fired an AK-47 at another vehicle. The encounter cost Saperstein two fingers on his remaining hand; the other was lost in the Yom Kippur War.
