Charges Dropped Against Weekly That Revealed Grand Jury Subpoena
Prosecutors have dropped charges against two media executives arrested Thursday night for publishing a story in the Phoenix New Times that revealed details of a grand jury subpoena.
Maricopa County, Ariz., Attorney Andrew Thomas said he had no prior knowledge of the arrests of New Times founders Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin, the Arizona Republic reports. The subpoena sought identifying information about anyone who has visited the newspaper’s Web site since 2004 in a probe of the alternative weekly’s decision to post the sheriff’s home address online.
Thomas also fired special prosecutor Dennis Wilenchik for issuing the subpoena. “It has become clear to me that this investigation has gone in a direction that I would not have authorized,” Thomas said. “There have been serious missteps in this matter.”
The state bar told the Republic that it has launched an investigation into both Wilenchik and Thomas after receiving multiple complaints about the arrests.
The New Times blog called the decision “a stunning capitulation to an overwhelming public backlash.”
