The Los Angeles Times has refused a request to release a video of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama where he praises Palestinian activist Rashid Khalidi.
The Times says that it promised a confidential source it would not release the video, according to the statement on the news company's web site.
The Times posted an article on Wednesday replying to a request from the John McCain presidential campaign to release the video. The campaign accused the paper of "suppressing information."
"The Los Angeles Times did not publish the videotape because it was provided to us by a confidential source who did so on the condition that we not release it," said L.A Times editor Russ Stanton in statement on the website. "The Times keeps its promises to sources."
The Times defended itself saying that it published the story detailing the contents of the videotape six months ago.
"The Times is not suppressing anything. Just the opposite – the L.A. Times brought the matter to light," said Jamie Gold, the newspaper's readers' representative in a statement in the Times.
Khalidi is a professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University in New York. The article reported that he had previously spoken to reporters on behalf of the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Khalidi lived near Obama in Chicago when the senator was a teacher at the University of Chicago, the Times reported.