Senate Will Not Try to Force Reporters to Testify on Leaks

WASHINGTON —  In a ruling that appears to cripple a controversial inquiry, the Senate refused Wednesday to compel reporters to testify or to divulge their telephone records to help investigators discover who disclosed confidential information during the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearing and the “Keating Five” ethics case.

Sen. Wendell H. Ford (D-Ky.), chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, and Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), ranking Republican member, decided to squelch efforts by the Senate special counsel, Peter E. Fleming, to enforce subpoenas against the journalists and direct them to give testimony.

“It’s their call,” said Fleming, obviously disappointed by the decision. “There’s no obstacle that can’t be overcome by hard work.” He said he would continue the investigation and file a report by his April 30 deadline.

Two of the reporters--Timothy M. Phelps of Newsday and Nina Totenberg of National Public Radio--were the first to reveal that Anita Faye Hill, a University of Oklahoma law professor, had made allegations of sexual harassment against Thomas to the Senate Judiciary Committee. They refused to discuss their sources or answer most other questions from Fleming.

After extraordinary television hearings in which Thomas denied that he had harassed Hill, he was confirmed as a Supreme Court justice by a 52-48 Senate vote.

Two other reporters--Paul Rodriguez and Jerry Seper of the Washington Times--also invoked the Constitution’s First Amendment, which guarantees press freedom, in refusing to answer questions about sources for their stories on the Senate Ethics Committee’s investigation of five senators who intervened on behalf of former savings and loan executive Charles H. Keating Jr. They also benefited from Wednesday’s ruling.

Ford and Stevens, who were delegated the power to decide such issues when the Senate approved the investigation last October, turned down Fleming’s request to put the Senate’s contempt-of-Congress power behind the subpoenas.

“Approving these requests would send the wrong message to the American public,” Ford said in a statement. “I am mindful that victims, all too often women, have too few places to turn when their rights are violated. To grant the requested orders could have a chilling effect on the media and could close a door where more doors need opening.”

But he said the special counsel could proceed vigorously to question government officials or employees who may have disclosed confidential information about Hill’s allegations or the Keating Five case without authorization.