Cindy Adams has made plenty of people squirm with her long-running New York Post column. But now the 76-year-old gossip maven is in sheer panic mode over a federal subpoena involving a controversial item she penned about "D.C. Madam" Deborah Jeane Palfrey.

Also issued subpoenas: ABC's Brian Ross, involving Palfrey's client call list, and The Smoking Gun's Bill Bastone over an item the site posted on October 9 revealing the FBI's seizure of Palfrey's money. All are ordered to reveal their sources for the information (Ross is ordered to turn over the call list).

When a server attempted to deliver Adams's subpoena at work on Monday, Radar has learned, Adams hid behind building security. She has told acquaintances that she has never been issued a subpoena, adding that she "doesn't know what the hell this all means," a source says. She's also asked one of Rupert Murdoch's attorneys to help protect her from making a court appearance. The subpoena calls for her to appear for a deposition on October 5, just eight days from now.

Adams reported in August that Palfrey planned to dump her criminal lawyer, former Monica Lewinsky attorney Preston Burton—a detail that only Palfrey, her lawyers, and the prosecution could have known at the time. Palfrey believes that the federal government, which is prosecuting the case against her, used Adams to "spin misleading information."

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice has denied any government leaks.

The aging gossip gal, who could be jailed if she refuses to reveal her source, claims she doesn't know who leaked the secret info.

"When questioned about the publication of the 'under seal' information, Ms. Adams had a bout of selective amnesia," Palfrey tells Radar. "When pressed about such an improbability and, more importantly, any notes or records she had to support her remarks, Ms. Adams incredulously stated she had none."

Adams's forgetfulness occurred less than two weeks after she wrote her Post piece. Radar has asked who, if not Adams, would have notes or know the sources behind an item attached to her byline, but to date, neither she nor any New York Post spokesperson has responded to our requests for comment.

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