In a statement on its website [3], the National Press Club said:

Members of The National Press Club join their colleagues around the nation in celebrating the news that two journalists will not be subpoenaed to testify in the court martial of an Army officer, who has conceded that his quotes disparaging the administration's conduct of the war in Iraq were accurate.

Freelance journalist Sarah Olson [4] and Honolulu Star-Bulletin reporter Gregg Kakesako were subpoenaed by the Army, which planned to call on them to verify quotes made by 1st Lt. Ehren Watada [5], who was charged with conduct unbecoming an officer and missing troop movement. Two of the three conduct charges have been dropped in exchange for Watada's agreement that he was quoted accurately.

"This is a big win for all journalists," said Jerry Zremski, president of the National Press Club, which took a stand last week against the Army's subpoena of Olson. "When the government tries to drag reporters into court to testify about their work, it undermines their ability to freely report the news – and that means it undermines the First Amendment. The victory we achieved here is a sign that we can fight – and win – these battles for a free press."

John Stauber, executive director of the Center for Media and Democracy, which founded Defend the Press [6], the coalition that supported Olson, said, "I think the fact that this was such an important matter to the National Press Club sent a wake-up call to the Army prosecutors and became a turning point in our case to drop the subpoena of journalists."

Olson called the development "a victory for the rights of journalists in the U.S. to gather and disseminate news free from government intervention, and for the rights of individuals to express personal, political opinions to journalists without fear of retribution or censure." She added, however, that "preservation of these rights clearly requires vigilance."

Olson is slated to join Defend the Press at a press conference in the National Press Club's Zenger Room at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 1.