Obama Administration Continues To Clash With Journalists Over Leak Investigations

The New York Times reports that the Obama administration did not limit its investigation of reporters’ sources solely to that 2012 Yemen incident in which it sought and seized AP journalists’ phone records. In their investigations of leaks and in pursuit of reporters’ sources, the FBI and other agencies were also interested in a New York Times story about Iran and a Fox reporter’s story about North Korea.  According to other accounts, the FBI got a warrant, signed off on by AG Eric Holder, to search Fox News reporter James Rosen’s emails, and justified the measure by alleging Mr. Rosen violated the Espionage Act. The agency also named him a “possible co-conspirator.” Yet the administration says it has no plans to prosecute any reporter for any crime. Fox News says it was not notified of the warrant until late last week; its parent company, NewsCorp, says it was notified last year. Meanwhile, possibly in response to growing criticism of its treatment of the media, the administration has now asked Senator Charles Schumer to reintroduce a federal shield measure, which the Senator had championed previously. Link to the bill here, courtesy of the Society of Professional Journalists. More on the FBI and Justice investigations here from the NYT, here from ABC News, here from Fox News. Dana Milbank of the Washington Post gives his opinion of the government’s actions here.