Judge denies Bloomberg’s request to stay order on sources

A U.S. judge denied on Tuesday a request by Bloomberg LP to stay an order requiring more than 100 people to disclose information they shared with its reporters about a bankrupt mining company, which Bloomberg said inhibits its free speech rights.

Tom Hals  of Reuters writes, “U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Sontchi in Wilmington, Delaware curtly dismissed the request by Bloomberg’s legal team to stay his order for 48 hours so the company could appeal.

“Last week, Sontchi ordered 123 people to disclose by the end of Tuesday their contacts with Bloomberg reporters regarding Molycorp Inc over the prior 60 days.

“Lawyers for Bloomberg declined to comment after the hearing, referring to a statement issued after last week’s order.

“‘The order issued by the Delaware bankruptcy court last Thursday strikes at the heart of the First Amendment and the fundamental mission of a free press: to provide transparency into important public events,’ John Micklethwait, Bloomberg’s editor-in-chief, said in the statement.

“Bloomberg can still ask the U.S. District Court to stay the order before the end of Tuesday.”

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