Posted on 05/13/2013 1:49:29 PM PDT by CWW
Edited on 05/13/2013 1:56:19 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press in what the news cooperative's top executive called a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" into how news organizations gather the news.
The records obtained by the Justice Department listed 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, according to attorneys for the AP.
In all, the government seized those records for more than 20 separate telephone lines assigned to AP and its journalists in April and May of 2012. The exact number of journalists who used the phone lines during that period is unknown but more than 100 journalists work in the offices whose phone records were targeted on a wide array of stories about government and other matters.
In a letter of protest sent to Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday, AP President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Pruitt said the government sought and obtained information far beyond anything that could be justified by any specific investigation. He demanded the return of the phone records and destruction of all copies.
"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," Pruitt said.
The government would not say why it sought the records. U.S. officials have previously said in public testimony that the U.S. attorney in Washington is conducting a criminal investigation into who may have leaked information contained in a May 7, 2012, AP story about a foiled terror plot. 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.
Three times three times three....
This is the millionth side of a fascist takeover. Fascist governments do this sort of thing.
Watch, he will be schmoozing them up now.
Great minds! See 178.
Assange?
1) Benghazi
2) IRS targeting conservatives, Pro-Israel groups
3) SEALs downed helicopter on 08/11 (parents speaking out)
4) SEALs memorial service; Muslim cleric desecrates SEALs
5) DOJ taps press phones
6) Abortionist Gosnell found Guilty of murder
I’m sure there’s more!
Pinging myself to your terrific list. Thanks!
Remind me, what was the root of Watergate again?
Obama will probably hold a secret meeting with AP and tell them he was just helping to see if there were any impartial "journalists" within the AP organization. AP will say "thanks... we need to eradicate any such people from our ranks"
“I really don’t see how this will diminish the MSM’s love for him. “Oh, that’s a good thing you tapped our phones...””
No doubt some of the press will feel ashamed they didn’t provide call logs to the Administration.
If this doesn’t make the drive by media decide to start doing their job I don’t know what will..............LMAO
Oh you can bet that Sarah is getting a good chuckle out of this one
Why wouldn't he? It's not like he will get into any trouble for it. That would need an active and curious press corps that is willing to look into anything that this administration does.
Now, that being said; maybe this is the straw --- maybe, somebody (other than Fox News) will be just p.o.'d enough to look into this. But, I'm not holding my breath. After Benghazi and the total news blackout on that; followed by the IRS targeting private citizen groups because of their political affiliation; and, yet, no real press coverage or interest. Maybe, if it is one of their own, they will get interested; but, I mean, what will it take. Four Americans dead, one our ambassador, and they paint it as a Republican ploy for votes.
I think the media is like an abused spouse. No matter what they do to them, they will never leave. And, this administration knows that, which is why they behave so blatantly.
“Reverend Wright, please pick up the black courtesy phone...............The black courtesy phone Reverend Wright?”
It sounds to me like this administration of liars is engaged in abuse of power at every possible opportunity.
While that may have been the long-term plan, I was just pointing out that tapping of the phones was not a part of this particular story.
Election primaries?
I dont know if Biden is the lesser of two evils..Obama is truly a very dangerous man..a Hitler clone..but Biden..he’s straight up stupid..I dont know whats worse, a dangerous man or a stupid one
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