The Obama Scandals: Scandal Number 2, The Unprincipled Stealing Of Associated Press Telephone Logs

This is a second in which is highly likely to be a continuing series of posts on the three main scandals that have recently erupted around the Obama administration:

1. The Benghazi consulate terrorist attack and cover up.
2. The unauthorized and secret confiscation of confidential telephone logs of Associated Press news reporters by the Obama Justice Department.
3. The use of the IRS to hamper, harass, and intimidate American citizens and organizations that held political opinions contrary to the Obama administration’s positions and opinions.

Yesterday, we reviewed the excellent analysis of the first scandal, the Benghazi consulate terrorist attack and cover up, from noted economist Thomas Sowell. He eloquently discussed the lies and deceit this administration has already put forth, is currently putting forth, and is likely to put forth to cover up the attack which resulted in the unnecessary murders of four brave Americans.

Today, we will try to do an overview of the second scandal listed above, the secret confiscation of phone record logs of Associated Press reporters by the Obama administration’s Justice Department. As we get more of a handle on these fast breaking stories and scandals, we will dedicate future posts to them all. For the short term, brief summaries will try to set the groundwork and understanding of what is going on today.

The details of the confiscation were laid out in an Associated Press article from May 13, 2013. Details of the confiscation include the following information:

• The Justice Department secretly took two months of telephone records of Associated Press (AP) reporters.
• These records listed outgoing calls of the work AND personal phone numbers of AP reporters, the general office pone numbers of AP offices in New York, Washington, and Hartford, a fax machine phone line, and the AP phone number in the House of Representatives press gallery.
• As of the writing of this AP story it was unknown whether incoming calls to these numbers were also tracked, whether or not the duration of the calls were tracked or whether or not actual phone conversations were recorded.
• It is also unknown if a judge or grand jury signed off on the seizure. Given the emerging arrogance and disregard for the law by this administration, I sincerely doubt anyone outside of the Justice Department signed off on the seizure after careful consideration of Constitution precedent, it was all done internal to the Justice Department.
• More than 100 news reporters likely had access to these phone lines during the time the Justice Department obtained the phone logs.
• One theory for this unprecedented seizure was that the Obama administration was trying to find out who in the government may have leaked information about a potential terrorist attack that may have been put in motion in Yemen.
• The Justice Department has not yet stated why it needed the records, who signed off to approve the confiscation of the telephone records, and who approved the seizure of the records.
• Not only was the scope of the confiscation unprecedented, but, according to the article, this Presidential administration has been aggressively investigating what it considers the leaking of classified information and has brought six cases against people suspected of providing classified information, more than under all previous Presidents combined. A little bit of paranoia perhaps?
• According to the article, prosecutors have often sought to obtain phone records from reporters before, but the confiscation of telephone records from such a wide ranging set offices and individuals was termed “unusual.” And frightening.
• Apparently, news organizations are usually notified in advance that the government wants phone records and then the parties usually enter into negotiations over the desired information. Not surprisingly, this Justice Department bypassed this business as usual, traditional way of doing business altogether.

Scary stuff. Secret seizures, secret subpoenas from secret sources, secret uses of the data, secret knowledge about the range of information collected, secret, secret, secret.

While the Benghazi discussion we had yesterday probably did not violate any specific Constitutional tenets or rights, except denying four Americans the right to pursue life, liberty, and happiness, this secret confiscation does directly attack Constitutional principles. These principles include freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and the right to due process. Serious breeches of government trust in a democracy such as ours.

However, myself and many other Americans are not alone in our feelings of disgust, disgrace, and repulsions in these actions by the Obama administration:

• AP President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Pruitt, in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder said that “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."
• Congressman Darrell Issa, chairman of House Oversight and Government Reform Committee: "They [the Justice Department] had an obligation to look for every other way to get it before they intruded on the freedom of the press."
• Sen. Patrick Leahy stated in an emailed statement: "The burden is always on the government when they go after private information, especially information regarding the press or its confidential sources. ... On the face of it, I am concerned that the government may not have met that burden. I am very troubled by these allegations and want to hear the government's explanation."
• Laura Murphy, the director of ACLU's Washington legislative office: "The Attorney General must explain the Justice Department's actions to the public so that we can make sure this kind of press intimidation does not happen again."
• Senator Rand Paul: "The Fourth Amendment is not just a protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, it is a fundamental protection for the First Amendment and all other Constitutional rights. It sets a high bar — a warrant — for the government to take actions that could chill exercise of any of those rights. We must guard it with all the vigor that we guard other constitutional protections."
• Arnie Robbins, executive director of the American Society of News Editors: "On the face of it, this is really a disturbing affront to a free press. It's also troubling because it is consistent with perhaps the most aggressive administration ever against reporters doing their jobs — providing information that citizens need to know about our government."

So we have people in both house of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, and people inside and outside of the industry being highly critical and very upset these types of secret government actions really undercut the freedom and liberty that should be afforded to news reporters, and every American, in this country.

Three final thoughts on today’s scandal, both from the AP article. As usual, the Obama White House took its typical tactic in all crises of blaming someone else when press secretary Jay Carney stated: "We are not involved in decisions made in connection with criminal investigations, as those matters are handled independently by the Justice Department."

It is Bush’s fault, it is the Republican’s fault, it is the Japanese tsunami’s fault, it is the big banks’ fault, it is everybody else’s fault but President Obama. But it is his fault, it is his administration.

Harry Truman’s famous saying was, “The buck stops here.” In other words, I am in charge, I am the leader, I am ultimately to blame for anything that goes wrong. Contrast this to Obama’s style where he tries to stick the buck anywhere but near him, even though in this case it is his Attorney General, his Justice Department, and his administration who perpetrated this disgrace.

The second thought I will leave you with today comes from a William Miller, a spokesman for the Justice Department, who, according to the article, stated that in general the U.S. attorney follows "all applicable laws, Federal regulations and Department of Justice policies when issuing subpoenas for phone records of media organizations."

“In general?” Does that mean that there are cases and situations where the Justice Department does NOT follow applicable laws, Federal regulations, and Department of Justice policies? Wouldn’t that make them law breakers in these cases and shouldn’t the prosecute themselves for not following applicable laws? Scary stuff when government bureaucrats get to determine when and if they follow the laws of the land.

And finally, think back to Nixon's Watergate scandal. Remember, that started with that Presidential administration also messing around with telephones and trying to find leaks via the infamous White House "Plumbers." Just saying, is history going to repeat itself from a leakage perspective?

More to come on this and the other two major scandals but hopefully today we laid a good groundwork of what this Justice Department/Associated Press scandal is really about.

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