You are assuming that we are a nation under the rule of law, which is no longer the case, and that the same rules apply to all people, which they don’t.
We still are in some areas. And I totally agree that the laws are deliberately unevenly applied. This has always been the case. The privileged class gets a pass, as do "local dignitaries" for local offenses. But investigators posing as journalists will just use the evidence, they won't charge "you lied to a person who was posing as a journalist." Too easy to get out of that in court.
Well put.