Holder Faces Possible Perjury Charges, Now Known He Signed Off on Fox News Spying

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AUTHOR Libertarian Girl

May 24, 2013 10:45am PST

The President loves to say, “Let me be clear.” So let me be very clear, the first amendment states, “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” Surveillance, unlawful spying, and the prosecution of the press are some of the greatest threats to our vital check on government corruption, abuse, and overreach of power. If there is one thing the Obama administration has proven effective at it’s weaseling its’ way around the first amendment.
To date, the Obama administration has used the Espionage Act of 1917 to prosecute more journalists than any previous administration in the history of the United States. This equates to a warning and unprecedented threat to the freedom of the press and the means to hold government accountable.

Now, the circus in Washington is becoming more and more outlandish every day. The scandal discovered in recent weeks of the Department of Justice seizing Associated Press phone records is being investigated. But that’s not as good as it sounds.
In this latest unfolding drama, President Obama has charged the fox to watch the hen house. The President said Thursday that Attorney General Eric Holder would conduct a review of the DOJ guidelines for investigations that involve journalists.
NBC News reported that Attorney General Eric Holder signed off on the warrant that identified Fox News reporter James Rosen as a “possible co-conspirator” in violation of the 1917 Espionage Act. The warrant authorized the seizure of his private emails.
“I’ve raised these issues with the attorney general, who shares my concern,” the President said, adding that Holder would report back in mid July.
The Department guidelines state: “The Attorney General’s authorization is normally required before the issuance of any subpoena to a member of the news media or for the telephone toll records of a member of the news media.” That is verification that he should recuse himself regardless of the Presidents wishes.
The President expressed his concerns saying, “Journalists should not be at legal risk for doing their jobs,” Obama continued. “Our focus must be on those who break the law.” But the fact of the matter is that his words rarely, if ever, live up to his actions. If it were the Bush administration violating the Associated Press, journalists everywhere would be outraged and inconsolable.
While freedom of the press has not been killed in action, it’s critically wounded. It’s interesting that the media has been especially easy on this President and now the reason is clear. This administration is doing a good job at scaring the press into silence. The false narrative that extreme secrecy of government activities will increase the security of our country spits in the face of our founding fathers and the ideological underpinnings that built this nation. The best fix for this false narrative is a free and unafraid press.