A little over a year later, the Chronicle reporters published a book called “Game of Shadows,” appeared as a guest on David Letterman, the cover of Sports Illustrated and were thanked by President George W. Bush. It must have felt like living on Easy Street that year. Little did they know that a difficult legal battle the following year would challenge their convictions and threaten their liberties as journalists, citizens, husbands and fathers.

Last Thursday, Fainaru-Wada described his experience to CCSF News Writing students at the LGBT Community Center on Market Street. He described the intensive detective work he and Williams did during the four years they covered the story.

It started with phone calls to everyone in their rolodex and Williams reconnecting with sources he had maintained for more than fifteen years as a journalist. One big break came in the form of testimony from the secret Grand Jury sessions that led to the prosecution of Victor Conte, Greg Anderson and two others involved in BALCO and the distribution of steroids to athletes. Another big break came when Williams found a name and contact information for Greg Anderson’s grandmother. Williams contacted her and she was happy to fill in the blanks of most of Anderson’s background which led to numerous new leads for the reporters to follow.

In 2004, when Giambe denied using illegal substances, Fainaru-Wada and Williams wrote an article based on Giambe’s own testimony in front of the Grand Jury to discredit his public denials. Later that year, when Barry Bonds claimed that Flax Oil was the only performance-enhancing substance he used, Fainaru-Wada and Williams published an article which proved otherwise. Their investigation into heavily guarded secrets and the stories that resulted won acclaim and respect from their peers, politicians and even the U.S. President himself, who invited Fainaru-Wada and Williams to the White House in April 2005 to congratulate them on excellent reporting.

Imagine their surprise when, in May 2006, the Attorney General issued subpoenas for Fainaru-Wada and Williams, insisting they reveal who their sources were. They were also required to turn their notes over to the Grand Jury so that the leaks could be identified from the documents. The journalists refused and were supported by The Chronicle, the paper’s parent company the Hearst Corporation, California Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi and journalists from across the nation.

Most states have a shield law to protect journalists in such cases and California is no exception. However, there is no federal shield law to protect journalists in federal court and especially not in secretive Grand Jury investigations. Thus, Fainaru-Wada and Williams were threatened with 18 months imprisonment if they did not submit the information they had and The Chronicle was fined $1000 per day for defying the subpoena.

Faced with possible imprisonment and determined not to break his promise to his confidential source, Fainaru-Wada had to endure some tough situations in order to do the right thing. He told the gathering of CCSF students last Thursday that there were only two times he really got angry during this time.

“The first time I got mad was when I thought about going to prison while Barry Bonds broke the homerun record,” he said.

“The second time was when I had to explain to my 8-year-old and 6-year-old [daughters] that Dad might go to jail for doing his job,” he continued.

Lack of a shield law in federal courts is a dangerous thing, not only to the journalists and whistle-blowers it protects, but also to the public who benefits from such information. During his presentation, Fainaru-Wada quoted House Representative Mike Pence when he said, “I’m a huge supporter of the shield law because I believe it’s important for the public to get information unfettered.”

Congressman Pence is a conservative leader in the House of Representatives, head of a conservative think tank based in Fort Wayne and a Republican. He authored the Free Flow of Information Act, also known as the “Federal Media Shield,” which would protect journalists on a federal level. Pence plans to re-introduce the bipartisan measure when the 110th Congress meets in 2009. If passed, this legislation would protect journalists from having to tell their children that Mom or Dad might go to jail for a job well done.

Though Fainaru-Wada still wouldn’t reveal his source when he spoke to the group of student journalists, it’s been well-reported that the charges against him and Williams were dropped after Troy Ellerman admitted to leaking the Grand Jury testimony to Fainaru-Wada. Ellerman, a lawyer who previously represented Conte and another BALCO executive, plead guilty to federal charges and was sentenced to two years in prison. The whistle-blower received more prison time than Conte and Anderson’s sentences combined.