City drops demand for Times reporters' sources

Seattle City Attorney Tom Carr has withdrawn his legal demand that three Seattle Times reporters reveal their confidential sources.

Carr had subpoenaed the Times reporters late last month asking that they answer written questions about their sources for a series of articles about police misconduct. One of the officers named in the 2004 and 2005 articles, John Powers, sued the city for defamation and wrongful termination, and the city issued the subpoenas in the course of its defense.

The Times filed a motion asking a U.S. District Court judge to stop the subpoenas.

Carr's move, which was highly unusual, drew criticism. Gov. Christine Gregoire, who appointed Carr as chairman of an open-government panel, was "troubled" by the subpoenas. Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi called for Carr's removal from the panel.

Wednesday, Carr and The Times reached an agreement: After Carr dropped his demand for the reporters' sources, The Times agreed to withdraw its motion to stop the subpoenas.

"We're pleased but not at all surprised by the outcome," said Times Executive Editor David Boardman.

The agreement also said The Times will continue to protect its confidential sources.

Boardman said the paper never had any intention of giving up the information, adding that's always been the paper's policy.

Carr said his office had tried to resolve the matter informally in early November. In a letter to Times lawyer Bruce Johnson, the city attorney's office asked the Times to respond to questions about sources in writing. Carr says the reporters could have answered the questions by citing the laws protecting reporters.

Johnson, however, sees the November letter differently.

"I understood him to be saying if we're not going to turn this over voluntarily, we're going to send you these subpoenas," Johnson said, adding, "a government agency should not lightly threaten the media with a subpoena seeking confidential sources."

The Times has not been sued by Powers, and the newspaper stands by the articles.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Carr said Wednesday that he did not know about the subpoenas before one of the lawyers on his staff, Paul Olsen, issued them.

Carr said he did not reveal that detail earlier because he generally tries to take the heat for decisions his office makes. Carr called Olsen an excellent attorney and said he agreed with everything Olsen did, but noted, "We now have a policy that all newspaper subpoenas must be approved."

Material from The Associated Press was included in this report.

Maureen O'Hagan: 206-464-2562 or mohagan@seattletimes.com