Journalist subpoenaed for reporting and communications in defamation suit

Jessica Pressler, a staff writer for New York magazine, was subpoenaed for her communications and newsgathering materials on Dec. 6, 2023, as part of an ongoing defamation lawsuit against Netflix.

In 2018, Pressler wrote an article on Anna Sorokin, a high society grifter who posed as a German heiress named Anna Delvey and was convicted for conning hotels and banks out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The piece went viral online, and in 2022 Netflix released the miniseries “Inventing Anna” based on the article, having hired Pressler to consult on its production.

Rachel DeLoache Williams, a former friend of Sorokin, sued Netflix in August for defamation and false light invasion of privacy for her unflattering portrayal in the series, in which she was identified by full name and with real biographical information.

Attorneys representing Williams then subpoenaed Pressler in 2023, requesting all of the journalist’s communications with the series’ producers concerning Williams and her portrayal, writers’ room notes for seven of the nine episodes, and any research on her in connection with the development of the series.

The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker was unable to determine the outcome of the subpoena, which ordered Pressler to produce the documents by Jan. 5, 2024. Attorneys representing Netflix filed responses and objections to the subpoena in February, but no formal motion to quash was filed on Pressler’s behalf and the journalist did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Williams’ efforts to obtain Pressler’s newsgathering materials continued, however, and in September her attorneys requested that the court compel Netflix to turn over materials that it had redacted or withheld after asserting journalistic privilege to protect confidential sources.

In a declaration opposing the motion, Pressler said that the disclosure of her reporting materials — which she shared with the producers of the series with the understanding that her confidential sources would remain so — could jeopardize her future reporting.

“For many reasons, ranging from safety issues to employment prospects, sources often refuse to speak to me or provide me with newsworthy information unless I can promise those sources that their identities will remain strictly confidential,” she wrote. “Maintaining such confidentiality is critical to my role as a journalist and my ability to report will be substantially impaired if I am compelled to disclose my newsgathering material.”

Williams’ attorneys argued in a letter to the court that Pressler waived her privilege by voluntarily disclosing the information to Netflix and others working on the series. In its own opposition to the motion, Netflix wrote that the confidential sources had nothing to do with Williams or her portrayal in the series, and that the production company is also protected by the privilege as it applies to the adaptive work done by filmmakers and dramatists.

In a joint status report, attorneys for the parties wrote Sept. 20 that they had been unable to reach an agreement on the documents that would identify Pressler’s sources, as Williams’ attorney asserted that receiving the names is crucial to showing that the series used his client’s real name while protecting the identities of others.

The case is ongoing, with the next joint status report due to the court Oct. 9.