Justice Dept. bans reporter from Ashcroft press conference

[rawstory]

As seen on The Raw Story, http://rawstory.com


High & Mighty
What do you do when some morons criticize you in a news report? If you're the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, the top federal cop, the answer is easy: You blackball the news reporter
BY KIRK NIELSEN

When U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft visited Miami two weeks ago as part of a nationwide blitz to promote the Bush administration's war on terror, he issued a scary warning. "Multiple available streams of intelligence indicate to us that al Qaeda plans to attack the United States this year and to hit us hard," he declared. "The USA Patriot Act is working to protect American lives and liberties and makes it possible for us to bring charges against individuals who threaten the United States and our security."

In anticipation of Ashcroft's Miami appearance, his host, U.S. Attorney Marcos D. Jimenez, issued his own warning. Though this one was directed at a local news organization, not the nation at large; and though it did not concern terrorists, it was chilling in its own way. Jimenez instructed his special counsel for public affairs, Carlos Castillo, to phone in some extraordinary news to WTVJ-TV (Channel 6): Ike Seamans, senior correspondent for the NBC-owned station, would be banned from Ashcroft's June 30 news conference at the federal justice building in downtown Miami. "He said, öIf you send Ike, he will not be allowed in,'" recounts WTVJ's vice president for news, Yvette Miley, who took the call. She says she responded to Castillo: "That's shocking. You really can't dictate to us who we send to cover an event.' I asked him what his issues were and why he would even try to go down that road. And he talked about a past story."

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/2004-07-15/feature.html

[AspenRose]

1. So much for freedom of the press

[Elidor]

2. Astounding

What amazing arrogance! I guess we need a press access law if they're going to go down this road.

[2Design]

3. and the censoring continues......ban the people who tell the truth

[thecrow]

9. Kinda like putting protestors in a "free speech" zone, huh? n/t

[amber dog democrat]

4. Only cowards and bullies act this way.

This is a dismal reflection on the thin skinned partisan attitudes that seem to prevail in the Dept of ( in ) justice.

[Devils Advocate NZ]

5. Talk about synchronicity!

The reporter in question was "blackballed" because he decided to write a story about Jimenez after a judge criticised him.

The name of the judge? K. Michael Moore!

After a judge earlier this year criticized Jimenez, Seamans decided a story was in order. He set up an interview to question the U.S. Attorney about the Alvarez dispute and the judge's remarks. WTVJ broadcast the offending news segment on May 13 (see sidebar, "Lies, Damnable Lies"). Seamans noted that Miami federal Judge K. Michael Moore "accused Jimenez of being 'weak-kneed' and lacking 'prosecutorial zeal,' resulting in a sharp decline in criminal prosecutions."

[Rose Siding]

7. There was another familiar name

The editor of the Miami Herald: Judy Miller.

[izzie]

6. Getting pretty bad. Right?

What is fun is when they start in on their own party. Once it starts and they get the upper hand it will be just as bad as we thought it would be. I love to read things like this as I know from doing family history, they used to put people in jail for not going to church. And a few other sins like fornications but you got longer for not going to church.

[Robbien]

8. I do not understand why the press does not realize they hold the upper

hand here. If BushCo does not treat the press right, why does the press just lay there and take it? Why not fight back and print the truth for a change? BushCo would have to back off real fast.

[AndyTiedye]

11. Because of the FCC Ruling Giving them More Stations

All the big media corporations want to get bigger, and Michael Powell
is trying to help them do that.

Newspapers are also affected by this, as they anticipate a very
lucrative bidding war once the legal barriers to cross-ownership
are all stripped away. VERY good for newspaper owners.

Because of this, we will be treated to a display of presstitution
the likes of which we have never seen before in this country.
It will be almost non-stop by November.

[progressivebydesign]

10. Can anyone, honestly, tell me WHY Bush has anti-Castro people support?

Because honestly.. the tactics he and his henchman have been using make Cuba look like a freakin' democracy! Is it money? This is THE most repressive American regime I've known of... and I'm including the days of McCarthyism.

[enough]

12. Remarkable story.

Thank you for this post.

just one small snip from this multi-layer story:

snip>

The U.S. Attorney is sure to have a fight on his hands if he persists in trying to bar Ike Seamans from reporting on his office. Seamans says he was "stung" by the charges he is unfair and dishonest. "Two times in my 37-year career, government officials have successfully barred me from covering news events because they were unhappy with one of my stories. That happened in Cuba and the Soviet Union," he writes via e-mail from Israel. "It's certainly unusual that a high-ranking U.S. Justice Department official would attempt to do the same."

snip>

[struggle4progress]

13. TV Station? Then air great footage of fascist a**h***s refusing ...

... to admit your reporter to a public event.