Immediately after The New York Times revealed that one of its reporters’ phone records were seized by the Department of Justice, journalists and commentators lashed out on Twitter, demanding a reaction from the political right, especially seeing as criticisms were launched against former President Barack Obama for the same sort of behavior toward the press.
The materials obtained by DoJ include years’ worth of employee Ali Watkins communications, prompting some in the media to draw parallels to the previous administration’s attempt to uncover the identity of sources used in the work of an Associated Press reporter.
Now, journalists are calling this “an escalation in the war on the press” and an action that “makes all of us less free.”
Conservatives: If you were pissed when Obama wiretapped a reporter, you should be furious now https://t.co/MyJQ3TiYG8
— Evan Siegfried (@evansiegfried) June 8, 2018
When I’ve spoken to student in the first year of the Trump era I always reminded them that however idiotic Trump’s “Fake News” tweets got, it still didn’t measure up to the Obama era assault on the press. I always also said Trump, “but give him time.”
Maybe time’s up https://t.co/jPAoWpC4Tm
— Asawin Suebsaeng (@swin24) June 8, 2018
This is outrageous, and makes all of us less free. “Justice Dept. Seizes Times Reporter’s Email and Phone Records in Leak Investigation” https://t.co/qPBUU7aI1E
— Ken Dilanian (@KenDilanianNBC) June 8, 2018
One of the most extreme attacks on press freedom under Obama was when DOJ obtained the phone records of various journalists to find their sources. The Right (and some on the left) went ballistic. Now the Trump DOJ is doing it. What will be their reaction? https://t.co/FiHtnUwOcK
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) June 8, 2018
The Trump DOJ secretly seized email and phone records of an NYT reporter. A serious escalation in the war on leaks and journalists. https://t.co/XQuzJjoFD0
— Jesse Eisinger (@eisingerj) June 8, 2018
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