Following a decision by Chief Judge Patti Saris of the US District Court in Boston, Beck, who falsely accused Saudi Arabian student Abdulrahman Alharbi of involvement in the Boston Marathon bombing, must reveal the anonymous source the conservative radio commentator used to base his accusations.
According to the judge's ruling, Alharbi is allowed to learn the names of the two DHS officials Beck claims that he received his information from.
"The only way to verify or confirm what the confidential sources told the defendants would be to speak with the sources themselves," Judge Saris said, in a 61-page decision. While most US states have shield laws protecting confidential sources, Massachusetts does not.
The Boston Marathon bombing killed two people and injured over 260. Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, ethnic Chechen brothers, were found to be responsible for the bombing.
According to Judge Saris, Beck claims that he never spoke with the sources in person.
