Violations of First Amendment rights continue to grow. The Department of Justice secret subpoena for the phone records of the Associated Press goes much deeper than just a few phone records. The violation of the First Amendment also included the seizure of records for five reporters’ cellphones and three home phones as well as two fax lines, an AP lawyer said.
In spite of this horrific Obama federal government over-reach and illegal “wire-tapping,” the denials keep coming from the Obama Administration.
Jay Carney, White House Spokesperson says: “It is wholly inappropriate for me to comment.”
In testimony last Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Eric Holder denied any knowledge of the AP investigation, claiming he recused himself. “I was not the person involved in that decision. I was recused in that matter as I described in a press conference held yesterday. The decision to issue this subpoena was made by the people presently involved in the case.” The stonewalling continues.
Even President Obama denied involvement. Last Thursday, he defended the DOJ’s seizure of AP phone records, by stating: “I make no apologies about going after information that might compromise the missions of U.S. personnel or get themselves killed.” Our Congress must get to the very bottom of this infamous seizure!
When will the administration heads realize that the “buck stops at the top?”
This Associated Press wiretap has a long-range chilling effect on free speech in the United States! This is very, very serious---a total affront to the U. S. Constitution!
There were immediate calls for Holder to resign coming from all sides, including Reince Priebus, the Chairman of the Republican National Committee. Priebus charged: “The President of the United States believes his administration is above the Constitution and does not respect the role of a free press.”
David Schulz, the chief lawyer for the AP said, ”The subpoenas also covered the records for 21 phone lines in five AP office lines -- including one for a dead phone line at office in Washington that had been shut down six years ago. The phone lines at four other offices – where 100 reporters worked — were also covered by the subpoenas.”
NBC News reports: “Although AP had given general information about the subpoenas last week, it provided new details Monday about the number of cell and home phone records as it considers possible legal action against the Justice Department.
Schultz said the subpoena for a Washington phone line that had been shut down years ago raises questions about assertions by Deputy Attorney General James Cole, in a letter last week, that the subpoenas were narrowly crafted and only issued after a ‘comprehensive investigation’ that included over 550 interviews and reviewing tens of thousands of documents.
“Cole had said in his letter to the AP that ‘consistent with Department policy, the subpoenas were limited in both time and scope.’"
Gary Pruitt, President and CEO of the Associated Press, in his first television interview since it was revealed the Justice Department subpoenaed phone records of AP reporters and editors, said the move already has had a chilling effect on journalism. Pruitt said the seizure has made sources less willing to talk to AP journalists and, in the long term, could limit Americans' information from all news outlets.
Pruitt told CBS' "Face the Nation" that the government has no business monitoring the AP's newsgathering activities. And if they restrict that apparatus ... the people of the United States will only know what the government wants them to know and that's not what the framers of the Constitution had in mind when they wrote the First Amendment.”
We need Congress to “step up to the plate” and be very PRO-ACTIVE to save our First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which guarantees free speech.
Pruitt asserted: "It's too early to know if we'll take legal action but I can tell you we are positively displeased and we do feel that our constitutional rights have been violated. It was sweeping and broad and beyond what they needed to do. We're not going to be intimidated by the abusive tactics of the Justice Department."
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In another new development, it was revealed the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) efforts to intimidate the media went beyond targeting reporters and editors at the Associated Press. Early in the day, the Washington Post reported that the DOJ not only seized the phone records of Fox News reporter James Rosen, but used his security badge to access records tracking his movements at the State Department, traced the timing of his calls with a Department security advisor suspected of giving him classified information, and obtained a search warrant to access his personal emails. On Monday of this week, it was revealed that two more Fox staffers, reporter William La Jeunesse and producer Mike Levine, were also targeted by the DOJ.
When did the Department of Justice become the judge, jury and executioner behind closed doors?
The Constitutional rights have been violated. And we need Congress to step in and make sure that our U.S. Constitution is preserved! Please fax today!
Sincerely,
Conservative-Daily
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