Govt obtains wide AP phone records in probe

The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press in what the news cooperative's top executive called a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" into how news organizations gather the news.

The records obtained by the Justice Department listed incoming and outgoing calls, and the duration of each call, for the work and personal phone numbers of individual reporters, general AP office numbers in New York, Washington and Hartford, Conn., and the main number for AP reporters in the House of Representatives press gallery, according to attorneys for the AP.

In all, the government seized those records for more than 20 separate telephone lines assigned to AP and its journalists in April and May of 2012. The exact number of journalists who used the phone lines during that period is unknown but more than 100 journalists work in the offices whose phone records were targeted on a wide array of stories about government and other matters.

AP article

This is Nixon level stuff, folks. Wow just wow. Read the article then comment, there is little to no wiggle room here. If this is what it looks like the media will turn on him rapidly, at least most will.

For someone who claimed to brin transpercy to government, Obama is setting new levels of intimidation and secrecy to the office.

If This Is how the admin rewards an organization that has protected it from negative stories, anyone wonder how the admin would treat its critics?

The AP better be glad the P doesn't stand for patriotic.

reply to post by thesungod


Some quotes from the article provided:

--------------------------------
"The May 7, 2012, AP story that disclosed details of the CIA operation in Yemen to stop an airliner bomb plot occurred around the one-year anniversary of the May 2, 2011, killing of Osama bin Laden.

The plot was significant both because of its seriousness and also because the White House previously had told the public it had "no credible information that terrorist organizations, including al-Qaida, are plotting attacks in the U.S. to coincide with the (May 2) anniversary of bin Laden's death."
--------------------------------

I am thinking that perhaps they may be trying to stop more AP reporters from disclosing more information; such as was disclosed on (May7, 2012).

Perhaps TPTB got a tip from someone...that there are reporters that are getting ready to reveal another piece of information...that they do not want the public to know.

Benghazi, Fast & Furious, IRS scandal, treatment of Atkisson,..
Maybe now people will finally begin to realize that the wheels are truly coming off.


NAHHHHH!

Originally posted by caladonea
reply to post by thesungod

 

Some quotes from the article provided:

--------------------------------
"The May 7, 2012, AP story that disclosed details of the CIA operation in Yemen to stop an airliner bomb plot occurred around the one-year anniversary of the May 2, 2011, killing of Osama bin Laden.

The plot was significant both because of its seriousness and also because the White House previously had told the public it had "no credible information that terrorist organizations, including al-Qaida, are plotting attacks in the U.S. to coincide with the (May 2) anniversary of bin Laden's death."
--------------------------------

I am thinking that perhaps they may be trying to stop more AP reporters from disclosing more information; such as was disclosed on (May7, 2012).

Perhaps TPTB got a tip from someone...that there are reporters that are getting ready to reveal another piece of information...that they do not want the public to know.

Even if what you suggest was the case , intimidation of the press is abhorrent in a free society, the excuse used to justify the behavior do not out way the cost of such methods on freedom of speech and expression.

reply to post by caladonea


My Spidey sense is tingling on this as well. For me, it seems like with it being such a wide based probe...they're looking for something specific, they just don't know who and possibly even what it is they're looking for.

Seems a lot of protocols were bulldozed...ehmm...I mean "waived" ...it seems like something much bigger than a Yemen terror plot leak.

Very dubious actions.

Oh, I know what happened. Someone set the DOJ thought AP stood for American Patriots, and thought it might be a terrorist organization.

This is HUGE.

Obama .... transparency you can believe in. Hope and change.
Holder .... only wanting justice. No intimidation .... no bias ... just justice.

Anyone out there still buying that crap??

Originally posted by FlyersFan
This is HUGE.

Obama .... transparency you can believe in. Hope and change.
Holder .... only wanting justice. No intimidation .... no bias ... just justice.

Anyone out there still buying that crap??

The Start of the first Obama admin was the nail in the coffin of my belief in the whole process, proof that the two party system is a sham Obama being bush 2.0.

Ever since its just more shovels of dirt on top of that coffin.

I'm VERY sure that this will be used as intimidation by the Obama administration and by his minion Holder. With Benghazi-gate getting into full swing ... Obama and his ilk will be wanting to step on the back of APs neck with their jackboots.

reply to post by thesungod


The important thing right now is, this story is out there for people
to look at. The activity is the hallmark of totalitarianism. I don't want this
story to get viral anywhere except by word of mouth-- because the most
important thing Joe Average can do now is remember this story, and
repeat it everywhere the hard way. It could be one of the last honest things
we ever read off the Internet from the mainstream. "Monstrous!" Nigel Bruce

Even more rediculously self-destructive to me is how the Obamadministers
actually thought this wouldn't reflect on their treachery to even their INHERITED
thuggery protection base. If you start compromising your own guards to see
what they know, how well did they think it would go?? Well hell, who needs AP?

Seems a fairly clear violation of the First and Fourth Amendments. Intimidation of the press, violating the First, using overbroad seizure, ignoring the Rule of Particularities, violating the Fourth. Not long ago, I asked an individual who was in favor of violating the Second Amedment how long he thought it would be before they went after the others, which he seems to hold more dear. He said they wouldn't, I maintained that they certainly would, especially if they drummed up support for violating at least one. Sadly, it appears I was right, and my question of "how long before..." is now answered.

Note to the Feds: If YOU no longer are bound to obey the law, what makes you think WE, The People, are bound to obey it? Ignore the law at your own peril, for in doing so you make yourselves irrelevant, useless, and even worse, dangerous to the public order.

Originally posted by derfreebie
reply to post by thesungod

 

The important thing right now is, this story is out there for people
to look at. The activity is the hallmark of totalitarianism. I

I donno what to think.

On the one hand, I see everybody complaining that the main stream media is reporting all this false info, participating in the false flag cover ups, and forcing us to turn to alternative media and sites like ATS to get some real truth.

Then, when the Justice Dept reads all the complaints on ATS, and tries to investigate the main stream media, to see where all this false info is coming from, people jump up and shout totalitarianism .

Look guys, maybe the government is just trying to find out where all the misinformation is coming from.

Remember, not all of the government is "the" government. Some of the government is "we the people," working for the government, trying to find out who the "shadow government", i.e. the real government, really is, hiding among us.

So what do we have from the Obama adminstration:

Fast and Furious
Unwillingness to prosecute Wall Street because too big to jail
Campaign to label Patriots as domestic terrorists
Benghazi
IRS targeting Tea Party

and now spying on journalists whose job it is to report on the government. Too bad the Republicans won't do what is right and impeach the president, because they are also corrupt.

America used to signify freedom and liberty, now appears to signify corruption and greed. AMERICA - WAKE UP!

I voted for Obama, and I am certainly left leaning in my political and social views, however when you combine this broad overstepping investigation/intimidation against the AP and its reporters with the obviously politically motivated IRS investigations into conservative groups and mix in a little Benghazi to top off the insanity, I will be voting for a third party from this point forward.

At the very least, the President has proven himself unable to manage the affairs of the nation. That wouldn't mean he was necessarily a bad person, after all, how does anyone know how they would fair as President.

There is a second explanation however. Only time and additional investigation can potentially tie these issues together into a more sinister, thought out plan.

I can't blame my more right leaning friends and family for being alarmed at this. I know I am.

So, I can see it now. They will Impeach Barry and at beginning of the hearing, he will stand up and say..." I was never a citizen so what I did as president means nothing so this hearing is over" and as he leaves he will say...."figure out how to fix this one beeytach!!!"...

This is really big. Recently you have Benghazi..then the use of the IRS to go after groups and individuals with other ideals them the Dems. How much more will it take till someone finally says stop. Who is it going to be?

Obviously there's a perfectly good explanation for this. I'll just wait patiently for the more left leaning members of ats to give a logical answer.

Well lets see...

Benghazi Gate
IRS targeting conservative groups
AP phone record confiscation

I think the Benghazi trail is leading closer and closer to the white house and some distractions are being throne at the media to try and scatter the very, very short American attention span.
I remember when the water gate scandal was going on. Very similar in many ways. Remember the water Gate brake in was to try and help get Nixon reelected. It wasn't the actual crime the was so bad but the cover up and all the lies that finally led to Nixon's resignation.
The only difference is this time 4 people died.

Or there is something else we don't know about that requires a really big smoke screen.

Try to stay focused on the facts and don't let partisan views blind you from the truth.

Originally posted by esdad71
So, I can see it now. They will Impeach Barry and at beginning of the hearing,

Can't impeach Barry. He's the emperor who wears no clothes.