Comments regarding the subpoenas of journalists in the Army’s prosecution of political speech in U.S. v. Watada from (pictured left to right above) Norman Solomon, Geneva Overholser, Greg Palast, Jeff Cohen, Diane Farsetta, Claude Marks, Ed Herman, Dr. Nancy Snow, Howard Zinn, David Zirin, John Stauber, Michael Parenti, Robert McChesney, Doug Ireland, John Nichols, Danny Schechter, Mark Dowie, David Barsamian, Robert Jensen, Anthony Arnove, Gloria Steinem, Noam Chomsky, and Phil Donahue .

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Read what the National Press Club, Society of Professional Journalists, PEN American Center, Mother Jones magazine, Military Reporters and Editors, Media Alliance, the Los Angeles Times editorial board, Dollars and Sense Magazine, and the National Radio Project have said in support of Sarah Olson.

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Joe Garofoli, San Francisco Chronicle. January 5, 2007

The questions from the civilian spokesman at Fort Lewis started sounding suspicious to Sarah Olson. He had called to ask the Oakland freelance journalist about the accuracy of quotes in her story about Lt. Ehren Watada, which had appeared on the liberal Web site Truthout.org.

As the telephone conversation progressed, Olson realized that the military was using her to fortify its case against Watada, whom it was prosecuting as the first commissioned officer to refuse deployment to Iraq and who had spoken candidly to Olson. While Watada faces a court-martial next month for conduct unbecoming an officer, the U.S. military pursues Olson.

Last month, military prosecutors subpoenaed the 31-year-old writer and radio journalist, asking her to appear at his court-martial, scheduled to begin next month, to verify what Watada said. If Olson doesn't testify, she faces six months in jail or a $500 fine and a felony charge for a story she was paid $300 to write.

Read complete story at SFGate.com

Listen to Sarah Olson's presentation to the "The Press on the War and the War on the Press" workshop at the National Conference for Media Reform in Memphis on January 13. The panel included White House correspondent Helen Thomas and was moderated by Geneva Overholser.

Click here for the 6 min. MP3 of Sarah Olson's presentation

By Sarah Olson, Editor and Publisher (Commentary). December 30, 2006

In May of this year, I conducted an interview with Ehren Watada while working as a freelance journalist. Watada is a 1st Lieutenant in the U.S. Army and is the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse orders to deploy to Iraq.

In the interview, Lieutenant Watada asserted that he had a duty as an officer to evaluate the legality of his orders and conduct himself accordingly. He said that he could not participate in the Iraq War because it was “manifestly illegal” and that his participation would make him a party to war crimes.

In June, Lieutenant Watada made national headlines when he refused to deploy to Iraq.

Phil Donahue

Say what you will about Sarah Olson, she got the story. On the ground and armed with only an audio tape recorder, reporter Olson did nothing more radical than dig deep — the first law of journalism. Her interview with Lt. Ehren Watada vividly painted the portrait of a young man in anguish — to serve or not to serve. As the after-hours boys in the Press Bar used to say, "It’s a great story!"

The Watada case is about to become front page, his court-martial at Fort Lewis, Washington is sure to be covered by the networks, the wire services, the major dailies and all the grandees of big journalism. Olson — the local scribe with little power and no budget — got there first. She should be an exemplary reference in the opening day lecture at Journalism school, she got all the "gots," the coin of journalism’s realm. She got there, got it right and got it out.

Sarah Olson and Dahr Jamail

January 2, 2007 - Shortly following her appearance today on a nationally-syndicated TV program, journalist Sarah Olson received word that the U.S. Army was backing off of its demand that she testify at the January 4 pre-trial hearing in the court-martial of Lt. Ehren Watada. The Army subpoenaed Olson in December to testify about her interview with Watada, the first commissioned officer to refuse his orders to deploy to Iraq and the first military officer charged with public dissent since 1965.

Olson remains under subpoena to testify at the full court-martial scheduled for early February, and journalist Dahr Jamail remains on the prosecution's witness list for the case. Media coverage of the precedent-setting case is growing, as is the list of regional and national civil liberties and  journalists' organizations that have condemned the Army’s action as a threat to press freedom and free speech.