Actions say loudly and clearly that the Obama administration frankly believes in press control. The idea is that federal operatives are protecting national security, though the heavy handed prosecutions of certain leakers, but not others, should have been an ominous tip-off that this administration was not above abusing power for political purposes.
Not only was necessary whistleblowing discouraged, but a chilling message was sent to government officials to avoid the "noncompliant" press. Yet, national security leaks that made Obama look good in the campaign season were given the federal brush-off.
But that wasn't enough. The feds, we now learn, have decided to deploy their national security anti-terrorism status to justify a sweeping raid on Associated Press phone records, and in a related development, we discover that federal gumshoes snooped on a Fox News reporter's emails in an attempt to run down the reporter's source.
There is a pattern here, as exemplified by the IRS targeting what were doubtless anti-Obama groups for special and annoying attention.
The White House spin is that the administration is large and complex, and that the president can't be expected to foresee all such indiscretions. However, the top man bears responsibility for the tone and tenor of his administration. Obama likes "good publicity," but appears to be amazingly dense about the good old-fashioned American way of a vigorous press and a robustly candid citizenry.
Selected quotes:
"The feds have charged intelligence analyst Stephen Jin-Woo Kim with disclosing classified information to Fox reporter James Rosen," says a Wall Street Journal editorial. "That's not a surprise considering that this Administration has prosecuted more national-security cases than any in recent history.
"The shock is that as part of its probe the Administration sought and obtained a warrant to search Mr. Rosen's personal email account. And it justified such a sweeping secret search by telling the judge that Mr. Rosen was part of the conspiracy merely because he acted like a journalist."
************
"The unfolding IRS scandal is a symptom, not the disease.For decades, campaign-finance reform zealots have sought to limit core political speech through spending limits and disclosure requirements. More recently, they have claimed that it is wrong and dangerous for tax-exempt entities to engage in political speech," write two former Justice Department officials.
"Journalists, First Amendment watchdogs and government transparency advocates reacted with outrage Monday to the revelation that the Justice Department had investigated the newsgathering activities of a Fox News reporter as a potential crime in a probe of classified leaks."
*************
A journalist 'co-conspirator'
http://online.wsj.com/article/
Outrage over spying on reporter
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
The IRS threat to free speech
http://stream.wsj.com/story/
Counter-terrorist crackdown on news organization
http://openchannel.nbcnews.
Patriot-Act mentality targets 'un-American' reporters
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/under-sweeping-subpoenas-justice-department-obtained-ap-phone-records-in-leak-investigation/2013/05/13/11d1bb82-bc11-11e2-89c9-3be8095fe767_story.html
No comments:
Post a Comment