James Risen Prepared to “Pay Any Price” to Report on War on Terror Amid Crackdown on Whistleblowers

We spend the hour with veteran New York Times investigative reporter James Risen, the journalist at the center of one of the most significant press freedom cases in decades. In 2006, Risen won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting about warrantless wiretapping of Americans by the National Security Agency. He has since been pursued by both the Bush and Obama administrations in a sixyear leak investigation into that book, "State of WarThe Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration." Risen now faces years in prison if he refuses to testify at the trial of a former CIA officer, Jeffrey Sterling, who is accused of giving him classified information about the agency's role in disrupting Iran’s nuclear program, which he argues effectively gave Iran a blueprint for designing a bomb. The Obama administration must now decide if it will try to force Risen’s testimony, despite new guidelines issued earlier this year that make it harder to subpoena journalists for their records. Risen's answer to this saga has been to write another book, released today, titled "Pay Any PriceGreed, Power, and Endless War." "You cannot have aggressive investigative reporting in America without confidential sources and without aggressive investigative reporting, we can’t really have a democracy," Risen says. "I think that is what the government really fears more than anything else." Risen also details revelations he makes in his new book about what he calls the "homeland securityindustrial complex."

Watch the full 45-minute interview with James Risen on Democracy Now!:

Democracy Now!, is an independent global news hour that airs weekdays on 1,200+ TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream 89am ET at

Please consider supporting independent media by making a donation to Democracy Now! today

FOLLOW DEMOCRACY NOW! ONLINE:

Daily Email