Obama Administration turns against the Free Press

[American Patriot]

Here's the letter of protest sent today from Gary B. Pruitt, president and CEO of the Associated Press, to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder protesting the government's seizure without notice of a large and broad amount of AP phone records for an unspecified investigation:

May 13, 2013

Attorney General Eric Holder

Department of Justice

Washington, D.C.

Dear General Holder:

I am writing to object in the strongest possible terms to a massive and unprecedented intrusion by the Department of Justice into the newsgathering activities of The Associated Press.

Last Friday afternoon, AP General Counsel Laura Malone received a letter from the office of United States Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. advising that, at some unidentified time earlier this year, the Department obtained telephone toll records for more than 20 separate telephone lines assigned to the AP and its journalists. The records that were secretly obtained cover a full two-month period in early 2012 and, at least as described in Mr. Machen's letter, include all such records for, among other phone lines, an AP general phone number in New York City as well as AP bureaus in New York City, Washington, D.C., Hartford, Connecticut, and at the House of Representatives. This action was taken without advance notice to AP or to any of the affected journalists, and even after the fact no notice has been sent to individual journalists whose home phones and cell phone records were seized by the Department.

There can be no possible justification for such an overbroad collection of the telephone communications of The Associated Press and its reporters. These records potentially reveal communications with confidential sources across all of the newsgathering activities undertaken by the AP during a two-month period, provide a road map to AP's newsgathering operations, and disclose information about AP's activities and operations that the government has no conceivable right to know.

That the Department undertook this unprecedented step without providing any notice to the AP, and without taking any steps to narrow the scope of its subpoenas to matters actually relevant to an ongoing investigation, is particularly troubling.

The sheer volume of records obtained, most of which can have no plausible connection to any ongoing investigation, indicates, at a minimum, that this effort did not comply with 28 C.F.R. §50.10 and should therefore never have been undertaken in the first place. The regulations require that, in all cases and without exception, a subpoena for a reporter's telephone toll records must be "as narrowly drawn as possible.'' This plainly did not happen.

We regard this action by the Department of Justice as a serious interference with AP's constitutional rights to gather and report the news. While we evaluate our options we urgently request that you immediately return to the AP the telephone toll records that the Department subpoenaed and destroy all copies. At a minimum, we request that you take steps to segregate these records and prohibit any reference to them pending further discussion and, if it proves necessary, guidance from appropriate judicial authorities. We also ask for an immediate explanation as to why this extraordinary action was taken, and a description of the steps the Department will take to mitigate its impact on AP and its reporters.

Given the gravity of this situation, I look forward to your prompt response.

Sincerely,

Gary Pruitt

[American Patriot]

This is pissing me off. There is almost NO news showing up on the Google news page about this.

In fact, right now, NOTHING is showing unless I specifically enter something related to phones, AP etc

[American Patriot]

Why the AP Phone Records Bombshell Could Threaten Eric Holder's Job

By Jill Lawrence
National Journal
9:24 AM ET

Attorney General Eric Holder testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, on April 18, 2013. Attorney General Eric Holder testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, on April 18, 2013. Molly Riley/AP

The bombshell disclosure that the Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of Associated Press reporters and editors could be dramatic enough to move even the phlegmatic Obama administration to action. Three concurrent scandals or controversies are just too many. Could that mean we will be bidding farewell soon to Attorney General Eric Holder?

Think about it. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, CIA director David Petraeus and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta all were in place on Sept. 11, 2012, when four Americans were killed in a terrorist attack in Benghazi. But now all of them are out of office and out of reach to be forced out for symbolic accountability purposes. And any of those departures would have been symbolic, since none of them have been held personally responsible for any failures.

There’s a similar situation at the Internal Revenue Service, enmeshed in a developing scandal for subjecting groups with “tea party” and “patriot” in their names to extra scrutiny starting in 2010. The IRS commissioner at the time was Douglas Shulman, a Bush appointee who departed last November,right after the election. The acting commissioner is a 25-year veteran named Steven Miller. It wouldn’t make much of a splash to force him to step aside for another acting commissioner. (Update: That's not to say there aren't questions about his role. The Washington Post reported Monday night that Miller, like Shulman, learned of the targeting problem in May 2012 but did not share the information with Congress).

Which brings us to Holder. The attorney general has been in the middle of controversies over whether to shut down Guantanamo Bay prison and whether to try suspected terrorists in U.S. courts. He has defended the U.S. right to wage drone strikes, to stage the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, and to use lethal force against a leader of al-Qaida who was also U.S. citizen.

He also was a lightning rod for conservative complaints about Fast and Furious, a federal sting that allowed U.S. weapons to fall into the hands of suspected gun smugglers on the theory that they could then be tracked to Mexican drug cartels. Instead, hundreds of the guns went missing, and many of them have been linked to crimes. One of them was the December 2010 killing of Brian Terry, a border patrol agent. Holder ended up being held in contempt of Congress, although he was not directly involved in the operation, run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Now we have the phone-records case, which the AP labeled a “massive and unprecedented intrusion” into its constitutional rights to gather and report the news. The news service suggested the move may have been part of a criminal investigation into who leaked the AP information about a CIA operation in Yemen that blocked an al-Qaida plan to explode a bomb on a plane headed for America. The story was published last year on May 7.

It is unclear how Holder fits into the latest firestorm, but he's a battered survivor of many controversies and this could be the one that finally convinces him or Obama that it's time to go.

[American Patriot]

Now, what I find HILARIOUS is the fact that 1) AP is getting screwed, 2) the MEDIA is getting screwed, 3) The First Amendment is getting screwed.

All these asses were so on to Second Amendment rights and just didn't "get it".

I warned them. I've warned everyone.

No one listened on their side.

Guess what? Welcome to the club

[vector7]

THE IMPERIAL PRESIDENCY
Obama's media can't ignore brand-new scandal

AP: Feds tapped reporters' phone records before 2012 election

Published: 16 hours ago

Chelsea Schilling |

Chelsea Schilling is a commentary editor and staff writer for WND, an editor of Jerome Corsi's Red Alert and a proud U.S. Army veteran. She has also worked as a news producer at USA Radio Network and as a news reporter for the Sacramento Union.




While embroiled in two major investigations related to the Benghazi attack and the IRS’ admission that it has been targeting conservatives, the Obama administration is now facing a third scandalous accusation: It reportedly spied on Associated Press reporters just months before the 2012 presidential election.

The AP said the Justice Department secretly seized two months of reporters’ and editors’ telephone records without explanation in April and May 2012. In the AP’s report on the scandal, President and CEO Gary Pruitt called the Justice Department’s move “a massive and unprecedented intrusion” into how news organizations gather the news.

Pruitt wrote a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder demanding the records and all copies be returned. According to the AP, “News organizations normally are notified ahead of time that the government wants phone records and enter into negotiations over the requested information. In this case, however, the government, in its letter to the AP, cited an exemption to those rules that holds that prior notification can be waived if such notice, in the exemption’s wording, might ‘pose a substantial threat to the integrity of the investigation.’”

More than 100 journalists who report on government and other matters work in offices the administration targeted. While Justice Department rules call for subpoenas of news records to be approved by Holder, it’s unclear whether he ordered the action.

“There can be no possible justification for such an overbroad collection of the telephone communications of The Associated Press and its reporters,” Pruitt told Holder. “These records potentially reveal communications with confidential sources across all of the newsgathering activities undertaken by the AP during a two-month period, provide a road map to AP’s newsgathering operations and disclose information about AP’s activities and operations that the government has no conceivable right to know.”

According to reports, the Obama administration still hasn’t provided a reason for the seizure or revealed whether a judge or a grand jury signed off on the subpoenas.

“Officials have previously said in public testimony that the U.S. attorney in Washington is conducting a criminal investigation into who may have provided information contained in a May 7, 2012, AP story about a foiled terror plot,” the AP reported. “The story disclosed details of a CIA operation in Yemen that stopped an al-Qaida plot in the spring of 2012 to detonate a bomb on an airplane bound for the United States.

“In testimony in February, CIA Director John Brennan noted that the FBI had questioned him about whether he was AP’s source, which he denied. He called the release of the information to the media about the terror plot an ‘unauthorized and dangerous disclosure of classified information.’”

The AP said the 2012 terror plot was “significant both because of its seriousness and also because the White House previously had told the public it had ‘no credible information that terrorist organizations, including al-Qaida, are plotting attacks in the U.S. to coincide with the (May 2) anniversary of bin Laden’s death.’”

According to the news organization, the story was written by reporters Matt Apuzzo and Adam Goldman with contributions from reporters Kimberly Dozier, Eileen Sullivan and Alan Fram. Those reporters, along with editor Ted Bridis, had their phone records seized.

It is believed the government obtained the records from phone companies, and it’s still unclear whether the actual phone calls were monitored.

The AP noted, “The Obama administration has aggressively investigated disclosures of classified information to the media and has brought six cases against people suspected of providing classified information, more than under all previous presidents combined.”

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the investigative House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, told CNN, “They had an obligation to look for every other way to get it before they intruded on the freedom of the press.”

The House Ways and Means Committee said it will hold a hearing on the IRS matter Friday.

News of the phone records seizure comes amid reports of numerous scandals plaguing the Obama administration, including an investigation into its response to the Benghazi terror attack and the Internal Revenue Service’s Friday admission that it had targeted conservative groups with descriptions including “tea party” and “patriots” with increased scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status.

“I’ve got no patience with it. I will not tolerate it,” Obama said Monday, referring to the IRS’ actions while he made a White House appearance with British Prime Minister David Cameron. “And we will make sure that we find out exactly what happened on this.”

Obama said he first learned about the issue Friday. The Treasury Department’s inspector general for tax administration is expected to issue an audit report this week.

According to NBC News, Lois Lerner, head of the IRS division on tax-exempt organizations, claimed the IRS’ actions were “inappropriate” but “absolutely not” influenced by the White House.

The News Tribune reported that acting IRS Commissioner Steven T. Miller – who had been informed of the issue on May 3, 2012 – “repeatedly failed to tell Congress that tea-party groups were being inappropriately targeted, even after he had been briefed on the matter.”

In June 2011, members of Congress sent letters to former IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman inquiring about its targeting of conservatives. NBC News noted, “The IRS responded at least six times but made no mention of targeting conservatives.”

Meanwhile, the simultaneous investigations have put Obama on the defensive.

In his Friday appearance on “The Rusty Humphries Show,” Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., suggested Obama’s role in the Benghazi cover-up could lead to the president’s impeachment.

Inhofe said, “People may be starting to use the I-word before too long.”

[American Patriot]

And then there's this (from the New Yorker, LOL):

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blog...e-records.html

May 14, 2013
Kim Jong-un Defends Right to Obtain Journalists’ Phone Records

Posted by Andy Borowitz



PYONGYANG (The Borowitz Report)—As controversy swirled around the Department of Justice’s move to obtain journalists’ phone records, the White House picked up a vote of support today from an unexpected source, Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un of North Korea.


“I honestly don’t see what the fuss is all about,” Mr. Kim said in an official statement today. “Of course it’s the government’s right to know what people are doing at all times—and journalists would be right at the top of the list.”


Mr. Kim also offered a vigorous defense of the I.R.S. policy of auditing the tax returns of organizations that oppose the government: “Again, this is something I wouldn’t lose a wink of sleep over, and I know Dad felt the same way.”


In what was an otherwise laudatory statement about the activities of the U.S. government, Mr. Kim offered one small critique: “They could save themselves the work of conducting audits and obtaining phone records if they would just get rid of journalists and anti-government groups in the first place. But, you know, baby steps.”


All in all, news of the I.R.S. audits and phone-records scandals have given the mercurial dictator hope that North Korea and the United States might have warmer relations in the future: “We have a lot more in common than I thought.”

[American Patriot]

Inhofe said, “People may be starting to use the I-word before too long.”

LOL

We already HAVE been using the I-word, FOR TOO LONG. Geez. lol

[American Patriot]

And Carney.... more lies. Holder and Obama are buddies, and they have a lot in common. They also are "tight" from rumors in the DC area about how often Holder is at the White House. Obama KNEW about this, no doubt.

This is bullshit. No Congress members have the guts to start impeachment on these assclowns?

Carney: White House has ‘no knowledge’ of DOJ efforts to obtain AP phone records

8:25 PM 05/13/2013

Alexis Levinson









Department’s efforts to secretly obtain the phone records from that reporters and editors at the Associated Press, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Monday evening.


Earlier Monday, the AP reported that Justice Department officials had obtained two months worth of phone records from the publication for the period of April and May 2012. Though the DOJ remained vague about its motives for seeking out the records, the timing appears to correspond with an AP story about a CIA operation in Yemen to prevent an airline bomb plot on the one-year anniversary of the death of operation that killed Osama bin Laden.


Carney, in a statement sent through the pool reporter, said the White House was unaware of the DOJ’s actions.


“Other than press reports, we have no knowledge of any attempt by the Justice Department to seek phone records of the AP,” he said. “We are not involved in decisions made in connection with criminal investigations, as those matters are handled independently by the Justice Department. Any questions about an ongoing criminal investigation should be directed to the Department of Justice.”


A previous pool report had Carney simply directing all questions to the Department of Justice.


Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/13/ca...#ixzz2THqmwhV6

[American Patriot]

Well, back to the principle's office.

House will grill Eric Holder on AP and IRS Wednesday

By Rachel Weiner, Published: May 14, 2013 at 12:38 pmE-mail the writer

Eric Holder (AP Photo)



Attorney General Eric Holder will testify before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday, where Republicans say they’ll grill him about the Justice Department’s secret review of Associated Press phone records and the IRS targeting of conservative groups for extra tax scrutiny, among other issues.


The oversight hearing had already been scheduled for 1 p.m. on May 15. But Republicans now plan to use the time to address the two issues that came to light this week.



The DOJ has not been connected to the IRS scandal, but House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) suggested that the department should be involved in protecting free speech.


“Any abridgement of the First Amendment is very concerning, especially reports that the IRS targeted conservative groups for unwarranted scrutiny during an election year,” Goodlatte said in a statement. “Members of the Committee will also ask pointed questions about the Justice Department’s decision to obtain two months’ worth of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press.”


The topics that were already on the docket for the hearing: intelligence coordination issues related to the Boston bombings, DOJ spending that Republicans deem wasteful, and conservative allegations of politicization under Holder.


Already a frequent target of Republicans, Holder faces new fire this week. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus has called on him to resign. Several House Republicans have asked Holder to resign in the past few years, mostly over the Fast & Furious scandal.

[vector7]

Chasing these newly released rabbits may take us down more hearing holes.

The one the Administration wants to avoid at all cost is the one that leads to Benghazi where 4 American's died while they all lied to win an election.

Breaking: AG Eric Holder Reportedly Recused Himself From DOJ Leaks Investigation Which Grabbed AP Records

Mike Levine @MikeLevineFNC
Source: Attorney General #Holder has recused himself from leak probe related to @AP, expected to announce as much @TheJusticeDept press conf
11:31 AM - 14 May 2013

Wow, the implosion continues. Welcome to “I can’t answer your questions, because I don’t know” time…

Nickarama | May 14, 2013 12:40 pm

[American Patriot]

That very thing is going on right now... "Welcome to “I can’t answer your questions, because I don’t know” time…"

[American Patriot]

Holder is claiming "I don't have any knowledge" and "I'm recused".

[American Patriot]

he's now claiming he recused himself "some time ago" and "don't remember the exact date" but "near the beginning of the investigation".

[Malsua]

Recused? That means he's in on it. Testify you rat faced racist!

[American Patriot]

His CLAIM, when he was asked, was that "I had some knowledge of journalists, I talk to them all the time, have lots of contact with them" therefore he recused himself.

re·cuse

/riˈkyo͞oz/
Verb

1. Challenge (a judge, prosecutor, or juror) as unqualified to perform legal duties because of a possible conflict of interest or lack of...: "a motion to recuse the prosecutor"
2. (of a judge) Excuse oneself from a case because of a possible conflict of interest or lack of impartiality.

So... conflict of interest. He was INVOLVED right up front and didn't want to be caught. Now he's caught, and like Hillary and Obama is just going to get away with it while the WH sits there saying, "Can't we just MOVE ON ALREADY?"

[American Patriot]

Well, let's blame it on our underlings. I'm seeing a pattern developing here. Anyone else see it?


Holder says his deputy was behind AP phone record subpoena

Published May 14, 2013

FoxNews.com


URGENT: Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday that the deputy attorney general was the one who "ultimately authorized the subpoena" to secretly obtain phone records from The Associated Press, as he revealed he had recused himself early on in the related investigation into leaks of sensitive information.

Word that Deputy Attorney General James Cole is directing the FBI probe came as the White House expressed confidence in Holder and the department following revelations that it had secretly obtained phone records involving as many as 20 Associated Press reporters and editors in an effort to find out who leaked confidential information to it.

Holder said Tuesday that the leak in question was "very, very serious," but declined to elaborate on the nature of it. He said it was among the most serious he'd seen in his career and that it "required very aggressive action."

"It put the American people at risk," he told reporters during a press conference Tuesday.

Holder said he recused himself to avoid a conflict of interest. He said the investigation followed "all of the appropriate Department of Justice regulations."

"As the Attorney General testified in June 2012, he was interviewed by the FBI in connection with the investigation into the unauthorized disclosure of classified information," a DOJ official told Fox News earlier.

"To avoid any potential appearance of a conflict of interest, the Attorney General recused himself from this matter," said the official, who spoke on background. "Since that time, this investigation has been conducted by the FBI under the direction of the U.S. Attorney and the supervision of the Deputy Attorney General, who has served as the Acting Attorney General overseeing this investigation. The decision to seek media toll records in this investigation was made by the Deputy Attorney General consistent with Department regulations and policies."

The White House said Tuesday that it had no knowledge of the investigation and referred all inquiries to the Justice Department.

"The president is a strong defender of the First Amendment," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said during a press conference. "He also of course recognizes the need for the Justice Department to investigate alleged criminal activity without undue influence."

"I cannot, and he [President Obama] cannot, comment specifically on an ongoing criminal investigation," Carney said.

Republicans, meanwhile, are calling on Holder to resign following news of the probe.

"Freedom of the press is an essential right in a free society," RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement.

"The First Amendment doesn’t request the federal government to respect it; it demands it," Priebus said. "Attorney General Eric Holder, in permitting the Justice Department to issue secret subpoenas to spy on Associated Press reporters, has trampled on the First Amendment and failed in his sworn duty to uphold the Constitution."

Mike Levine contributed to this report.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013...#ixzz2TIByhroy

[American Patriot]

Justice Department says Eric Holder removed himself from decision to subpoena AP records

Published: Tuesday, May 14, 2013




By PETE YOST
Associated Press


WASHINGTON — The Justice Department says Attorney General Eric Holder removed himself from a decision to subpoena phone records of The Associated Press.

A Justice Department statement Tuesday says that Holder stepped aside — a procedure known as recusal. The statement says Holder stepped aside because he had been interviewed in a government investigation into who provided information for an AP story that disclosed details of a CIA operation in Yemen.

Holder has assigned Deputy Attorney General Jim Cole to handle the phone records case.

The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The AP in what the news cooperative’s top executive called a massive and unprecedented intrusion into how news organizations gather the news.

[vector7]

Well, let's blame it on our underlings. I'm seeing a pattern developing here. Anyone else see it?

Holder says his deputy was behind AP phone record subpoena

Published May 14, 2013

FoxNews.com

URGENT: Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday that the deputy attorney general was the one who "ultimately authorized the subpoena" to secretly obtain phone records from The Associated Press, as he revealed he had recused himself early on in the related investigation into leaks of sensitive information.

Slick isn't it.

Two words: DAMAGE CONTROL

[American Patriot]

Dunno why they think they can control the damage.

They can't tell the Right they were doing anything legal, and they can tell the Left anything and the Left will believe.

[American Patriot]