Attorneys for Hearst Corp asked a federal judge to dismiss subpoenas demanding two San Francisco Chronicle reporters reveal who leaked secret grand jury testimony about alleged steroid use by baseball star Barry Bonds and other top US athletes.
In papers filed in federal court on Friday, the attorneys argue the subpoenas should be dismissed because of government misconduct and prosecutors' failure to demonstrate a pressing need for the information.
"There is no breach of national security, no act of terrorism, no violent crime that would go unpunished," Hearst lawyers wrote.
The Justice Department last month asked US District Judge Jeffrey White to enforce the subpoenas and order reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams to divulge who gave them the grand jury transcripts in violation of another judge's order.
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