On Fox News GOP Rep Lies, Accuses Glen Greenwald Of Threatening To Out CIA Agents

Remember when Fox News was OUTRAGED at the possibility of the United States government prosecuting a reporter for doing his job? It was only a couple of weeks ago. At that time their own James Rosen was revealed to have been conspiring with an employee of the State Department to acquire and publish classified documents concerning sensitive operations in North Korea.

The news of Rosen’s involvement in the matter, and the government’s investigation of him, sent Fox News squawking heads into a tizzy. They complained loudly and repeatedly that it was unconscionable that a reporter would be subject to such an unthinkable burden merely for doing what any respectable reporter would do under the same circumstances. Never mind the fact that Rosen was not conducting routine investigative reporting. He was caught persuading a source to break the law in order to advance his own political agenda. He literally told his source that he wanted to “force the administration’s hand.”

Fox News

Well, that commitment to the First Amendment was decidedly short-lived. Today on Fox News, Megyn Kelly hosted GOP Rep. Peter King to discuss King’s remarks regarding Glen Greenwald, the reporter who broke the NSA story. King had previously said that he believes that Greenwald should be arrested and prosecuted for his reporting. When Kelly gave King an opportunity to clarify his position, King said…

“In this case, when you have someone who has disclosed secrets like this and threatens to disclose more, then to me yes, there has to be…legal action should be taken against him. […] No right is absolute. Obviously, freedom of the press has to be cherished in this country, but in this case where some people are glorifying Snowden and making him a hero, and now acting as if Greenwald was a legitimate journalist.”

Kelly sought to make the connection between Greenwald and Rosen, asking King if there was a difference. King thinks there is:

“James Rosen never said he was going to release information that was going to kill Americans. He was never going to release the names of CIA agents and operatives around the world.”

Well, as Greenwald noted today on “All In with Chris Hayes,” he never made any such threat. He further insisted that he doesn’t even know the names of any covert CIA agents or operatives. King’s accusation was entirely made up. But that didn’t even matter, because when Kelly asked him if Greenwald should be prosecuted for anything he has already done, rather than something King is afraid he will do in the future, King responded in the affirmative.

Throughout this interview there was no sense of outrage, no horror that a government official – the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee no less – was advocating the prosecution of a reporter for doing his job. There was none of the indignation that Fox showed for Rosen expressed for Greenwald. There wasn’t even any push back at King’s allegation that Greenwald was threatening to take actions that would kill Americans, an allegation that if proven could result in Greenwald being executed for treason.

This is about as clear a demonstration that Fox’s concern for freedom of the press is a charade. They couldn’t care less about the First Amendment except in situations where they can exploit it for political advantage. Greenwald is a legitimate journalist (unlike Rosen who is a political operative), but when his rights are threatened by a lying congressman, Fox News thanks the congressman and moves on to their next story. Remember that the next time somebody on Fox pretends to be shocked by some scandalous event in the news.

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3 thoughts on “On Fox News GOP Rep Lies, Accuses Glen Greenwald Of Threatening To Out CIA Agents

  1. Screw these lawmakers with their support for this police state – they should arrest every one of them for crimes against the citizens of this country.

    • 10 years from now, if it’s left in place, someone’ll come along and say ‘Why not expand this program? It’s done us some good.’ then 10 years after that, if it’s left in place, someone’ll come along and say ‘Wow! That program helped us catch this guy/thwart this attack, let’s expand it!’ then another 10 years, then another 10 years, then another….all out of fear of the random actions that anybody can commit.

      On the same issue Steve, how do you feel about city surveillance cams? Like NYC and London? What about super high tech city cams that see more than just visible light? For me, this is not a simple issue, and it’s definitely starting to get out of hand. This NSA thing didn’t seem like a big deal to me several years ago when we first learned of it, but I’m not so sure now…one of the very few slippery slope arguments I can agree with….

      • Funny you ask, I had this same discussion with a family member – I DON’T like these cameras all over the place watching everything we do. One never knows who will use them for the wrong reasons, maybe never, but we can never know for sure. Privacy and freedom to go about your life without the state or any local municipality “watching” you is important for me. I don’t want 100% security if it means my life and everyone else’s is being recorded.
        Hopefully prior to your 10 year window someone comes along and dismantles these intrusions – but that is probably asking too much given the mindset of so many today.

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