They Know When You Are Sleeping…
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Media, The War On TerrorismThey Know When You’re Awake…
Ok…maybe not that much, but they may know who ABC reporters Brian Ross and Richard Esposito are calling. Why? Because they want to find out the sources for the secret CIA prisons leak.
A senior federal law enforcement official tells ABC News the government is tracking the phone numbers we (Brian Ross and Richard Esposito) call in an effort to root out confidential sources.“It’s time for you to get some new cell phones, quick,” the source told us in an in-person conversation.
ABC News does not know how the government determined who we are calling, or whether our phone records were provided to the government as part of the recently-disclosed NSA collection of domestic phone calls.
Other sources have told us that phone calls and contacts by reporters for ABC News, along with the New York Times and the Washington Post, are being examined as part of a widespread CIA leak investigation.
It’s a very exciting time to be a reporter again!
This entry was posted on Monday, May 15th, 2006 and is filed under Media, The War On Terrorism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
May 15th, 2006 at 2:58 pm
It’s seem like only a couple of days ago commenters were deriding as unlikely my little scenario for the NSA using its data to push a politician around. And now, here they are pushing reporters around. Imagine my surprise. And don’t kid yourself that this is just about finding a leak, this is using intel for the intimidation of a free press.
May 15th, 2006 at 3:54 pm
Wow I’m reading the comments on ABC’s blog and it’s scary to see how many people think this is a good thing.
Aren’t there laws to spesifically meant to protect journalists?
May 15th, 2006 at 5:00 pm
Michael - I still am.
In related news, I have bought a dog for my daughter and we have named it: “A senior federal law enforcement officer” or “ASS-FLEA”.
Please let me know when we have an actual name, because this smells like Dan-Rather-National-Guard-docs territory on the ABC blog.
May 15th, 2006 at 6:05 pm
Dos:
Well, you my be right. I guess we’ll find out eventually. I do hate to trust the MSM — after all, they’re the ones who accepted the WMD scenario.
May 15th, 2006 at 7:29 pm
Dos:
The FBI now admits that it is obtaining phone records of reporters. They don’t admit - yet - that they are using the NSA program. But they are tracking reporter’s phone calls.
blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/05/fbi_acknowledge.html
May 15th, 2006 at 9:56 pm
NSL’s - legal (until one gets challenged in Federal Court, I’d imagine. Serious confrontation clause and perhaps 4th amendment issues…), but creepy, especially in this context.
May 16th, 2006 at 10:15 am
Dos Peros is right. The only information we get should come from sources who are totally willing to sacrifice their entire career. Otherwise we’re all better off just not knowing.
May 16th, 2006 at 11:14 am
Surely the government has the right to go after the leakers within its ranks. It isn’t like they’re rounding up the records of journalists in general.
May 16th, 2006 at 12:38 pm
[tinfoil hat]so far as we know[/hat]
May 19th, 2006 at 5:06 pm
The runaway national security scare bullshit will only hit the brakes when it becomes clear that the gross misuse of power is indeed out of control. And with the president’s dismal approval ratings, the indictment of Libby and possible future indictments of Rove and Cheney, it’s beginning to look like the binders are starting to clamp down. Unfortunately, complaints from the intelligence community and justice department don’t make things happen. Most likely, momentum shifts only when politicians of both parties themselves begin to feel threatened by an executive branch that thinks it can use the constitution for toilet paper.