Holder approved of warrant of FOX reporter.

[AURaptor 1,137]

Attorney General Eric Holder personally signed off on the search warrant of Fox News reporter James Rosen's emails, NBC reports.

The warrant named Rosen a “possible co-conspirator” in violation of the Espionage Act for obtaining leaked classified information from a Pentagon source.

Rosen has not been charged.

The revelation came on the same day President Barack Obama said in a speech that he had ordered Holder to review the Justice Department's standards for investigating cases that involve journalists.

"I am troubled by the possibility that leak investigations may chill the investigative journalism that holds government accountable," Obama said in the speech. "Journalists should not be at legal risk for doing their jobs."

A law enforcement official told NBC News of Holder's personal involvement on Thursday. Holder has previously said that he recused himself from the AP phone records investigation since he had been a witness in the initial probe, but no one had previously indicated Holder's role in the Rosen case.

"It was approved at the highest levels -- and I mean the highest," the law enforcement official told NBC, speaking on condition of anonymity. He told the news organization that he included Holder in that statement.

© 2013 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/holder-involved-fox-warrant/2013/05/2

3/id/506161

[shabby 2,098]

Ahh the selective editing of Newsmax. They apparently, and assuredly mistakenly, left off the remainder of Obama's quote. You know the part where Obama stated the difficult balence of ensuring access of the press with the need to protect top secret information from being leaked by the press. It is absolutely foolish to think that the press over the years have not often crossed that line and leaked information that was classified for a reason. It is a tricky balence between supporting the press' right and duty to monitor our government while protecting classified information (in this case involving North Korea) from being leaked. I have no idea what the culpability level of Rosen was in passing leaks but I suspect there was due cause to monitor. I will also point out that all was done through obtaining a juudiciary court order. The courts are the appropriate oversight for such matters.

[DKW 86 7,948]

1) i would never quote Newsmax on anything...EVER.

2) The Administration, ANY ADMINISTRATION, should be using other means than trailing and harassing the press. There are phone records of the govt employee, their office access to the secret material, the govt employee's emails, etc. There are just too many easier ways to have gathered this info and not looked like the Gestapo in doing so. i fully understand and support stopping the leaks. In stopping the leaks tho, you shouldnt be nakedly involved with the process of intimidating the press and violating their 1st Amendment Rights. There can only be one ultimate answer to wiretaps on the press and going after them so overtly. It is to intimidate them from doing their jobs. This is McCarthyism. These are the tactics of a dictatorship, not of the free-est nation in the world.

Nixon is out there somewhere laughing at this administration.

[autigeremt 7,260]

Ahh the selective editing of Newsmax. They apparently, and assuredly mistakenly, left off the remainder of Obama's quote. You know the part where Obama stated the difficult balence of ensuring access of the press with the need to protect top secret information from being leaked by the press. It is absolutely foolish to think that the press over the years have not often crossed that line and leaked information that was classified for a reason. It is a tricky balence between supporting the press' right and duty to monitor our government while protecting classified information (in this case involving North Korea) from being leaked. I have no idea what the culpability level of Rosen was in passing leaks but I suspect there was due cause to monitor. I will also point out that all was done through obtaining a juudiciary court order. The courts are the appropriate oversight for such matters.

I think we will find that this was an over reach by a magistrate judge who failed to do his duty. This case is much more than protecting national security. The bredth of the warrant and execution of it by the DOJ goes way beyond its initial intent. This is poisonous.

[Elephant Tipper 430]

Ahh the selective editing of Newsmax. They apparently, and assuredly mistakenly, left off the remainder of Obama's quote. You know the part where Obama stated the difficult balence of ensuring access of the press with the need to protect top secret information from being leaked by the press. It is absolutely foolish to think that the press over the years have not often crossed that line and leaked information that was classified for a reason. It is a tricky balence between supporting the press' right and duty to monitor our government while protecting classified information (in this case involving North Korea) from being leaked. I have no idea what the culpability level of Rosen was in passing leaks but I suspect there was due cause to monitor. I will also point out that all was done through obtaining a juudiciary court order. The courts are the appropriate oversight for such matters.

What you fail to understand is that the leak was by Jin-Woo Kim, not Rosen. Historically the press is granted a pass because they are only reporting the leak. Rosen is being accused of espionage. Even when James Risen, NYT, received classified documents he was not persecuted/prosecuted. Even when Siobhan Gorman of the Baltimore Sun and journalist Jane Mayer (formerly WSJ) were not being pursued for espionage for receiving information about the NSA's Trailblazer program. And as a result of that mistake, Eric Holder had the tables turned on him for his overreach and Drake, NSA official, had all major charges dropped.

Do I want these leaks of sensitive information to fall into the hands of reporters ? No. The Obama administration though is now reaching into territory that has been an "established" safe zone for reporters. The leakers are the ones to be prosecuted, not the reporters.

This event will resolve showing Rosen innocent and Holder full of himself, again.

[shabby 2,098]

I think this is very important to give context to the situation: "Rosen, who has not been charged in the case, was nonetheless the target of a search warrant that enabled Justice Department investigators to secretly seize his private emails after an FBI agent said he had "asked, solicited and encouraged … (a source) to disclose sensitive United States internal documents and intelligence information."

I cannot say that I'm comfortable with either situation. I am not comfortable with the press being hindered but past behaviors by certain reporters indicate that the press is not beyond passing classified information in pursuit of the story. It is indeed a difficult balence as Obama stated.

[rexbo 104]

Of course, when the Administration wants to leak Top Secret information to make themselves look good; they're not too concerned with national security...

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/05/22/11816421-obama-aides-gave-classified-information-on-bin-laden-raid-for-film-watchdog-says?lite

[TheBlueVue 177]

Of course, when the Administration wants to leak Top Secret information to make themselves look good; they're not too concerned with national security...

http://usnews.nbcnew...chdog-says?lite

The prerequisite is that the leaked info must make Obama look a like magnificently successful Chief Executive

[Elephant Tipper 430]

Holder said he would not pursue reporters in an event such this involving James Rosen.

This is the text of Holder's statement before a congressional hearing on this exact matter affirming that he would not pursue reporters:

"Well, I would say this, with regard to the potential prosecution of the press for the disclosure of material, that is not something that I've ever been involved with, heard of, or think would be a wise policy. In fact, my view is quite the opposite that what I proposed during my confirmation, what the Obama administration supported during 2009 and I understand, I think that Senator Shumer is now introducing a bill that we are going to support as well, that the press should have a shield law with regard to the press's ability to gather information and to disseminate it. The focus should be on those people who break their oaths and put the American people at risk, not reporters who gather this information. That should not be the focus of these investigations."

DOJ Affidavit: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/20/james-rosen-justice-department-co-conspirator-obama_n_3305857.html?utm_hp_ref=media

[cptau 169]

Holder said he would not pursue reporters in an event such this involving James Rosen.

This is the text of Holder's statement before a congressional hearing on this exact matter affirming that he would not pursue reporters:

"Well, I would say this, with regard to the potential prosecution of the press for the disclosure of material, that is not something that I've ever been involved with, heard of, or think would be a wise policy. In fact, my view is quite the opposite that what I proposed during my confirmation, what the Obama administration supported during 2009 and I understand, I think that Senator Shumer is now introducing a bill that we are going to support as well, that the press should have a shield law with regard to the press's ability to gather information and to disseminate it. The focus should be on those people who break their oaths and put the American people at risk, not reporters who gather this information. That should not be the focus of these investigations."

A reporter has no direct knowledge of what's classified information, unless they see documents that have the classification labeled. If a leaker or whistleblower just calls and make statements the reporter would not know.

Administrations constantly leak info to the press, much of it would be classified. One press complaint about the Bush 43 administration was that they did not leak enough.

Our fearless VP Biden publicly leaked the identify of the Seal team that got bin Laden. He should never have done that. he put that team and their families in more danger. they do try and keep the Seal team members identities secret, but why even mention it? It would have been enough to say special operations forces conducted the raid, which is a true statement as the US Army flew the Seals in there and all involved has been transfered to the CIA temporarily anyway.

Compare this to what FDR said about Doolittle's secret B25 bombing raid on Japan in WWII. When asked by reporters where the attack had originated, Roosevelt replied, "They came from our secret base at Shangri-La."