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Journalist fights subpoena in Walker Lindh case

John Walker Lindh in Afghanistan.

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (CNN) -- A lawyer for the journalist who interviewed captured American Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh after he was captured in Afghanistan asked a federal judge Friday to quash a subpoena in the case.

Robert Pelton was working for CNN when he interviewed Walker Lindh last December. Walker Lindh's attorneys want to keep the videotape of that interview from being admitted into evidence at his trial on charges of fighting against the United States.

RESOURCES • Defendant's motion alleging combat immunity  • U.S. opposition to changing venue  (FindLaw documents, PDF format)   EXTRA INFORMATION • Timeline: The John Walker Lindh case  • People in the News: John Walker Lindh profile  • Transcript of Pelton's interview with John Walker Lindh      LEGAL RESOURCES Latest Legal News Law Library FindLaw Consumer Center Select a topic Bankruptcy Discrimination Divorce Estate Planning Landlord-Tenant Personal Injury Taxes

They argue that Pelton was traveling with U.S. Special Forces troops when he interviewed Walker Lindh, making him, in effect, an agent of the U.S. military.

Pelton was subpoenaed to testify at a hearing on the matter on July 15, but he has asked the court not to make him appear.

"The subpoena should be quashed because in considering the vital interests at stake, the court should strike the balance between in favor of denying Defendants intrusion upon Pelton's safety and rights independently to gather news," Pelton's attorneys said in court papers filed Friday.

The government wants the tape admitted, arguing in papers filed earlier this month that "Pelton is a private citizen who was not acting on behalf of any United States agency, civilian or military, when he interviewed Lindh."

If the subpoena is not blocked, Pelton's attorneys asked that he only be called to testify as a last resort, if other evidence does not resolve the issue.

A hearing on the subpoena is scheduled for July 12.

In the interview, Walker Lindh described being involved with the Taliban and training at a camp run by terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden. Walker Lindh survived the prison uprising at Mazar-e Sharif, where CIA agent Johnny Mike Spann was killed, but said he was not involved.

Jury selection in the Walker Lindh trial is scheduled to begin on August 26. He has pleaded not guilty to 10 charges, including conspiracy to kill Americans overseas while fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan.