I recently published a column on how Barack Obama has publicly assumed many of the powers that were once cited as the basis for the investigation and attempted impeachment of Richard Nixon. One of those areas was the Obama Administration’s crackdown on journalists. This week Attorney General Eric Holder appears to have yet again added to this ignoble record. It appears that the Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press. This disclosure follows another recent disclosure that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) targeted conservative groups associated with the Tea Party. Yet, once again, most Democrats remain silent in a type of cult of personality where principle is discarded in favor of loyalty to the President.
The spying on reporters by the Obama Administration included outgoing calls for the work and personal phone numbers of individual reporters. The seizure covered general AP office numbers in New York, Washington and Hartford, Conn. The Justice Department showed no restraint or concern, even including the AP in the House of Representatives press gallery. It now appears that in a few years historians could well be saying the Nixon was perfectly Obamaesque in his abuses.
AP President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Pruitt has written a letter to Holder objecting to the spying, noting that “[t]here can be no possible justification for such an overbroad collection of the telephone communications of The Associated Press and its reporters.” I would be equally upset with the mere fact of the spying as opposed to its breadth.
The spying may be part of a criminal investigation into a May 7, 2012, AP story about a foiled terror plot. AP agreed to hold the story after an objection from the Administration but ultimately ran the story disclosing a CIA operation in Yemen that stopped an al-Qaida plot to detonate a bomb on an airplane bound for the United States. While working with the Administration in holding the story, the Administration apparently was moving to spy on five reporters and an editor who were involved in the story.
Holder would have to have personally approved the subpoenas under Justice Department regulations. Â However, it is not enough to again criticize Holder (who has assembled one of the most abusive records on civil liberties in our history). Â Obama is well aware of the objections by civil libertarians and personally approved such decisions as promising CIA officials that they would not be investigated for torture and the kill list policy.
What is most striking about this story is the sense of complete immunity and lack of concern shown by the Administration. That sense of impunity has developed over four years as Democrats have gone into radio silence over abuses by the Administration from Obama’s “kill list” policy to other rollbacks on civil liberties. There will come a day when this president is no longer in office and many Democrats and Liberals will be faced with the imperial presidency that he created in the hands of someone they do not revere. When that day comes, it will be hard to climb over the mountain of hypocrisy to find a principled ground for criticism.
Source: CNN
SWM, I thought you were saavy enough to not go for the shiny objects of distraction. MSNBC is as bad for your health as Fox.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/05/13/chris-hayes-explains-why-citizens-united-is-the-real-scandal-behind-the-irs-scandal/
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-15/irs-sent-same-letter-to-democrats-that-fed-tea-party-row.html Ron Wyden and Lisa Murkowski are introducing legislation that requires groups to list their donors. Currently, the IRS is making up the rules as they go along.
lotta, The IRS was asking for the list of donors. That is NOT THEIR PURVIEW AND ILLEGAL. Don’t go for the shiny objects that guys like O’Donnell throw out to distract. He’s a professional pol spinmeister. Sure, we can have the discussion about tax exempt status, but not tied in w/ this. What the IRS did should send a chill up your spine. Replace tea party and Jewish groups; ones you dislike, w/ groups you do like.The chickens alway come home to roost.
iconoclast,
“Pure” is loaded language. I’d settle for “ethical enough to clean house properly”. I’m not questioning HRC’s technical qualifications. I question her willingness to do what is needed when she’s just as much a creature of monied special interests as the rest of the Washington machine. Skills and character are not equivalences. She shows differently between now and then? And by show I mean do something substantive other than wag her jaw? I might reconsider. That ball, however, is in her court.
Bunch of pathetic losers. I sent them all information packages. Including Obama. They’re scum. Obama is a piece of garbage.
And Nal,
If true then the congress people should be tried for high crimes and misdemeanors while in office…. I think that this is a form of treason….tyranny at the very least…
Charles,
I favor firing Holder…. Depending on Obamas knowledge then impeachment hearings should be considered….. To exempt them is to further obliterate the shreds of the constitution that remains intact today….
Matt Johnson, Lawrence O’Donnell had a good take on the IRS thing, I have thought for a long time that these new instruments to funnel money into politics needed more and meticulous scrutiny. The IRS should start revoking the tax exempt status from a lot of churches too IMO. But that’s just me.
Check out the vid:
GreenMountains 1, May 14, 2013 at 7:43 pm
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Everybody knows you don’t have the ovaries. Play it!
finally the mainstream media is focusing on the AP spy story as they now realize that Obama will go after anyone even their most strong supporter AP. Great article!
iconoclaast, I like what you said, and I love your moniker.
Geeba Geeba 1, May 14, 2013 at 7:13 pm
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Don’t count on anything.
Concerning the idea that the Patriot Act is the source reason that we have all these problems … I don’t agree. It’s like saying that hate crimes, once those laws were enacted, was the reason that people abused them and increased the count of their incidents. (incidence?) But I’ll tell you what. I bet that if the bargain was made to trash the Patriot Act for the total repeal of Obamacare it would be received with great enthusiasm.
Nick Spinelli-
That bit about women taking one for Obama in 2008– let me explain it from a different standpoint: A lot of us have always regarded HRC as very qualified. I thought then, and I think now, that she would be a better president than Obama. However, I take your point well that the low information voters vote on image and 30 second sound bites…have known it intimately being a veteran of the newsroom. I supported Obama for the simple reason that the GOP had their knives too well sharpened for HRC in 2008. Time has dulled the blade and HRC has had some time to demonstrate that she’s the girl who over-prepared for every class…and a lot of us like that. As for her pushing back at the big dogs? Yeah. We kind of like that, too. I don’t see that there’s anybody on the horizon pure enough for some of the commenters here today.
In general: this AP phone records thing? Announced Friday, and already they’re calling for Holder’s resignation and Obama’s impeachment?? This ain’t no TeeVee show, people. It doesn’t get all wrapped up in 30 minutes. I want to know a hell of a lot more.
This disclosure follows another recent disclosure that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) targeted conservative groups associated with the Tea Party. Yet, once again, most Democrats remain silent in a type of cult of personality where principle is discarded in favor of loyalty to the President.
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The Internal Revenue Service is lying, pathetic scum. They have no jurisdiction outside the U.S. tax code.
They want to pretend they’re a lot more than they are. They’re pathetic.
Nal:
There is a big power struggle going on in DC; conservatives and neocons are in a power struggle for the republican party. Where did those emails come from Rand Paul’s office or some punk from the Weakly Standard?
How does one get past the ‘sniper-fire’ issue?
Probably the same way one got past the ‘mission accomplished’ issue.
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But yea, the war on whistle blowers is outrageous and at some point in our history was against the law if an employer did it- even if the employer was the government. But there are new laws now that allow the government and its agencies to do whatever they may choose to do.
Rafflaw was right, until the Patriot Act and the snake pit (no offence to snakes) of laws, regulations and guidance it spawned are banished we will continue to have these problems.
As a longtime advocate of affirmative action, if Hilary were a candidate among a group of similarly qualified candidates I’d vote for her because she’s a woman. If Tammy Duckworth were also running I’d be on the horns of a ethical dilemma. Oh wait, no I wouldn’t. 🙂
“You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.” … thanks Obi-Wan. You’re our only hope.
White House: GOP fabricated leaked Benghazi email
The White House on Tuesday accused congressional Republicans of fabricating emails leaked to two different media organizations that suggested interest in scrubbing the Benghazi, Libya, talking points.
“Republicans who were leaking these emails that have been shared with Congress didn’t just do that. They decided to fabricate portions of an email, and make up portions of an email in order to fit a political narrative,” Carney said. “I’m not surprised by it because we’ve seen it again and again.”
Ouch!