Posted on 05/13/2013 5:59:46 PM PDT by jazusamo
The White House on Monday distanced President Obama from the Department of Justice’s seizure of Associated Press telephone records.
“Other than press reports, we have no knowledge of any attempt by the Justice Department to seek phone records of the AP,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said in a statement.
Carney said the White House had no involvement in the Justice effort.
“We are not involved in decisions made in connection with criminal investigations, as those matters are handled independently by the Justice Department,” he said.
The Justice Department said in a letter to the AP on Friday that it had gathered records on at least 20 office, cell phone, and home phone numbers — including the AP's desk in the House of Representatives press gallery.
The AP believes the records seizure was related to a leak investigation regarding a 2012 story about the CIA foiling a bomb plot in Yemen. The Obama administration has aggressively investigated the disclosure of classified anti-terror information in recent years, subpoenaing journalists from the New York Times and Washington Post.
In a letter of protest sent to Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday, AP President Gary Pruitt said there could be “no possible justification for such an overbroad collection of the telephone communications.”
“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,” Pruitt said.
In a statement, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia said it was “always careful and deliberate” in deciding to target media organizations.
News of Justice seizing the records comes as the administration is already dealing with accusations the IRS abused its power by targeting conservative groups for tax audits.
The administration is also under attack for its handling of the Benghazi attack.
Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/299479-white-house-no-knowledge-of-ap-phone-record-seizure#ixzz2TDxZV3WK Follow us: @thehill on Twitter | TheHill on Facebook
BUUUUULLSH!T
Who is throwing Obama under the bus?
Certaintly not the “stupid party”.
So are they still going to put his face on Mt Rushmore?
The media has covered for and lied and had their eyes shut for so long they may not even be able to ‘journalize’ anymore. This missile hits them squarely, so I suspect they will awaken.
I haven’t heard anyone using the race card to protect BO in the past couple of weeks.
Carney elaborated further and stated, "The CIA, FBI, DOJ and the IRS are likely the perpetrators of these outrageous acts, so please address your questions to those institutions".
Any more questions?
“At first glance, it looks like the Justice Dept was targeting reporters, but the main purpose was to find out who was talking to reporters.”
I believe that the leak came from Congess. Now, there have been a lot of leaks that have never been investigated, so why this one? Maybe Obama or Holder think a Republican or an aide to one did it and is hoping to find that.
I know I am sounding really ignorant, but I don’t understand. What would the WH or the DOJ want with phone records of the AP? What are they looking for?
Apparently those in the WH feel it’s better to be thought of as completely incompetent rather than malevolent. Maybe they’re right, but you would think there’s only so much incompetence that can be feigned.
/.02
It may just be true, jackass ears may not have known simply because he is involved in nothing except setting each of his ministers on a destroy the US mission. He is never there for example, he flys around on our air borne charriot, attends parties, sleeps till noon, avoids any involvement with economic advisors and spends time with the limosine liberals he is most happy with. Kind of like a Sultan of the Potomac.
Unfortunately for Odumbell, if the press cares to turn on him, they will point out his having set up a moat of deniablity but the captain is in charge of the ship.
I notice wonderkin Carney sent out this press release probably on the dime of his excellency’s PR team in DC. I don’t think wonderkin was in NYC when it was drafted and Barry Soetoro (AKA BS), was seeking handouts from the gullable in NYC last evening by hop knobing with the socialite dregs of our society. He, his advisors, his monied friends, and the whole dummocrat party should rot in hell.
i think the entire side would crack and fall off.
Yeah either caused by a local patriot, God himself, or by the fact if they carve it by how large his ego is, the mountain simply can’t support.
If this is what they do to a friendly news organization, you have to wonder what they’ve done to their enemies, like Fox News?
No, just his cheeks.
Benjamin Franklin - “He who is good at making excuses is seldom good for anything else.”
wow...one can see how the left so readily embraces tyrants and despots....a means to an end....regardless the cost...just wow...
This administration (including the POTUS) has no awareness of anything going on as executed by people for whom they are responsible. No wonder they feel that they have all the time and money in the world to go on fantastic vacations and almost daily trips to the links...
How foolish of us to expect otherwise. There are many ‘dots’ here. Connect ‘em all. Get the whole set.
Low and no information voters, of course.
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