The “War on Terror” Surveillance State Hits Journalists
Yesterday, the AP disclosed that the DOJ obtained lists of “incoming and outgoing calls, and the duration of each call, for the work and personal phone numbers of individual reporters, general AP office numbers in New York, Washington and Hartford, Conn., and the main number for AP reporters in the House of Representatives press gallery.” Apparently this is in the service of an investigation of a leak — one that revealed an Al-Queda affiliate plot to blow up an airliner on the anniversary of the killing of Bin Laden. Except that it wasn’t a real plot –it was one cooked up by a CIA plant to try to discover the elements of this affiliate. The Obama Administration has been pursuing this leak — they seem to pursue them all — but there is a little extra impetus in this one:
In the months since those revelations, the Justice Department pushed hard to uncover the source of the leak, driven in part by demands from Republican lawmakers it had endangered national security. The DOJ’s campaign was heavily criticized by members of the media, who warned that it would have a chilling effect on the source-reporter relationship, and by civil liberties groups, who viewed it as an infringement on First Amendment rights.
The DOJ isn’t talking about why it got that subpeona for these records and that is important to know. Which means that I have no idea if the DOJ is using provisions of the overly broad Patriot Act to get to the APs info. But I do know that pretty much all of the politicians and pundits who are rending their garments over this today have been supporters of not just the Patriot Act, but much of the expansion of the surveillance state that makes checking in on what US citizens are doing incredibly easy. And that includes the Editorial Boards of many of the news organizations who are howling today.
So I guess all of this surveillance was AOK as long as you couldn’t imagine that you’d ever be a target of it. The government should not have all of the advantages of surveilling its citizens. I don’t care what the danger is. But today journalists found out that they are subject to the same surveillance that the rest of us are subject to. They weren’t quite so upset about this when all of this was put in place, but perhaps now that they are clear targets of the surveillance state, perhaps some changes will finally be made.
Of course, there is more info to be had on this, so I may change my mind. But for now, while I’m mad at the DOJ for this, I’m way more angry that I’m as mad at the Patriot Act police state as when it was implemented and everyone expected me to believe the BS of “if you aren’t doing anything wrong, you won’t care about what the government knows about you”. And I’m mad that the now targeted media repeated this BS rather then report on what all of this surveillance meant to the rest of us who were targets of it.
Can’t they just get retroactive immunity?
The Patriot Act sucks and I’ve said that from Day 1. The only US Senator with the balls to vote against it was Russ Feingold. I guess you can pass any piece of crap if you slap some name on it that scares our elected officials.
So this is what it takes to wake up the media on surveillance.
Every president in my memory has increased the grasp of the surveillance state, without offering even lip service to slow it down. If the administration did in fact do this, they deserve every piece of crap the Republicans can make stick on them. “Everyone does it” is not an excuse. It’s too bad if Obama has to be the one to pay the price, but maybe that is what it will take to put a stop to it. Obama is a Constitutional scholar and should have known better and had the courage to be the first president to say no.
By the way, Republicans have absolutely no standing to complain about this, because their performance in surveillance is even worse. They certainly aren’t offering an alternative.
The Free Flow of Information Act of 2007, would have forbidden federal investigators from compelling journalists to give evidence without first obtaining a court order. It was voted down by Darrel Issa in 2007, but passed the House overwhelmingly anyway. Only twenty others and Darral Issa voted against the measure which would have prevented what occurred here. It eventually died by a Republican filibuster in the Senate. As Senator Obama, the former president then was supportive of it…
And now we have the Accuser Issa and the defendant…. Obama…
Our mainstream press is very weird.
The “war on terror” is every bit the titanic failure and joke that the “war on drugs” has been. Sadly it’s taken on a life of it’s own, beyond the control of the American people like so many things Washington.
Citizen journalists as well. If you haven’t heard about the death of David Dal Silva, read up. (http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0514-kern-beating-20130514,0,3650385.story) While the investigation may eventually turn up the truth – although I’m not betting on it – what is germane to this discussion is police detaining witnesses for hours until they agreed to turn over their phones, then going to court for a subpoena.
Yea Casandra, “the war on terror” that is what this is all about. It is certainly not political. How gullible are you?
Pull my left leg and it play Jingle Bells.
I think tonight’s movie will be “All the Presidents Men”
How gullible are you?
Really? *You* are asking me this? The fool who predicted that RMoney would win California and other completely stupid predictions? Gullible is listening to whatever wingnut radio you are listening to and hustling over here to post up the newest bit of bullshit you’ve been fed. Even if a simple google search would have informed you that you’ve been lied to.
When you stop posting the dumbest stuff on the planet here you can talk about gullible. Not before. And thanks for not even reading my post, moron.
I lived through the Watergate scandal, and remember the long, slow build-up. There have been a lot more revelations about President Obama in just the past week than ever happened to President Nixon in so short a time.
And now he’s managed to urinate off part of the professional media, who had been giving him so much cover. Maybe some of them will watch All the President’s Men, and start thinking, “If Woodward and Bernstein could win a Pulitzer Prize, there’s no reason I can’t,” and start doing some digging on their own.
When the President’s own
Information MinisterPress Secretary is being openly called Baghdad Bob, you know that this is getting to be a serious problem. D.C. turns on ObamaDana, that slow build up over watergate was due to a lot of regret and dread about having to investigate the President. The slow build up here is due to the fact that it is manufactured bullshit.
Dana you seem to have a selective memory. The allegations against Nixon were much more numerous and severe.
The whole Libya matter is about the CIA trying to cover their ass but, the GOP is trying to use it to discredit Obama and Clinton. They have no interest in the facts.
The interesting thing about the press investigation is it was demanded by the Republicans.
The allegations against Nixon were much more numerous and severe.
The allegations against Nixon were criminal.
And I am hugely amused that wingnuts seem to think that the press is somehow going to be tougher than they have been. Seriously? This is the same press who has been mad since January 2009 that they have little to no access to this President. And a President who has been pretty clear about what he thinks of them. So while this thing (and the IRS thing) have been a great excuse for the press to get all breathless and point their microphones in the direction of every bit of stupid that wants to be interviewed, the one who thought he had a real scoop had a real bit of disinformation fed to him.
The IRS was investigating groups who’s mission statement includes not paying taxes, buying political influence, and destroying the institution of government. It’s called criminal profiling. We just have to pretend to be outraged because most of the targets were white Christians. I think ALL the conservative PACs should be investigated and given extra attention to make sure they follow the rules they are loudly against.
Don’t fall into the trap of trying to make excuses, SB. The only explanation I can think of is statistical – lots of tea party groups were registering all at the same time, so maybe the IRS attention was within expected limits after all and only seemed abnormal. If there is a smoking gun they were targeted, just accept it and move on to accountability (unlike Republicans).
And I am hugely amused that wingnuts seem to think that the press is somehow going to be tougher than they have been.
On the other hand, they did allegedly go after AP phones. You don’t pick a fight with someone who buys (digital) ink by the barrel.
@Puck: I’m with Ben. They deserved to be targeted, and I don’t give a shit that they were. They’ve been spying on and harassing anyone suspected of being a dirty fucking hippie for 50 years now. Welcome to the club, Republicans.
Well it all depends on how Democrats defend themselves. Starting off with an apology is a bad start (although very Democratic). If we are going to act like Republicans we can at least defend ourselves like Republicans – no apologies. Stonewall and executive privilege, baby. Turn the mockery back at our attackers.
I am starting to share the wingnut distaste for Holder. Instead of going on the offense calling out Republicans who were demanding that leaks be stopped, who voted in new laws to do just that, and who are arguably attacking our efforts on national security, instead I heard him on the radio this morning like a weasel, lamely arguing that the terrorist incident the leaks were about was among the worstest terrorist incidents ever. He should be up there glowering and asking “Why do you hate America?”
Tom McKeney, “the allegations against Nixon were much more numerous and severe.”
Birther/Benghazi/Fast & Furious/Irs Scandal/AP Wire secret phone tapping.
Tom, are you sure?
Birther=BS
Benghasi=CIA failure
Fast and furious a Bush administration program
IRS doesn’t even come close to the abuse of liberal groups during the Bush administration (where was your outrage then?)
Wire tapping I have a problem with but remember this the investigation began because Republicans were butting pressure on the administration. Trying to appease them was a serious mistake.
With the Koch brothers, Olin Foundation,Richard Melon Scaife, and others funneling secret funds to tea party groups they were right to be suspicious, but they should have been transparent about their concerns.