Patriot Act Abuse: Journalists Phone Records are Fair Game.

[tjwash]

We are now officially Soviet Russia under Brezhnev now.

FBI Acknowledges: Journalists Phone Records are Fair Game

May 15, 2006 7:18 PM

Brian Ross and Richard Esposito Report:

The FBI acknowledged late Monday that it is increasingly seeking reporters’ phone records in leak investigations.

“It used to be very hard and complicated to do this, but it no longer is in the Bush administration,” said a senior federal official.

The acknowledgement followed our blotter item that ABC News reporters had been warned by a federal source that the government knew who we were calling.

The official said our blotter item was wrong to suggest that ABC News phone calls were being “tracked.”

“Think of it more as backtracking,” said a senior federal official.

How many of us here were against the Patriot Act, because it opened the door to this type of abuse? It just sickens me to see yet another right, this time freedom of the press, get marginalized by this type of back door method.

One thing I would like to know, is how many times the Patriot Act has been used against the innocent, such as members of the media and their sources, for intimidation purposes, as opposed to actual terrorists.

It's disgusting. I want my country back.

[Kagemusha]

1. Unlike the NSA stuff this is probably allowed

Not that perhaps it should. It'd be nice to have judicial review. But I don't write the laws.

[tjwash]

2. Freedom of the press protects a journalist's sources.

They are using these unconstitutional provisions, for intimidation purposes, so people will be scared to talk to the press from now on.

The Soviets used the exact same method.

[tjwash]

3. Good Morning, we didn't need that freedom of the press thing anyway.

A kick to get it out of the Bush Address shadow.

[AzDar]

4. Well, we astute DU 'ers KNEW this was going to happen, right?

I'm of the opinion that the abuses are far, far worse; this is just the stuff that manages to slip out....

[bryant69]

5. Yeah read the comments there too

I commented on this story at the blog, and then got pointed to the comments- oy - Journalists are traitors, apparently.

Bryant
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