Citizens Dedicated To Preserving Our Constitutional Republic

Americans – Like Nazi Germans – Don’t Notice that All of Our Rights Are Slipping Away (Part 6)!

Note: Please read Part 5 regarding this disturbing and gut-wrenching issue:

Americans – Like Nazi Germans – Don’t Notice that All of Our Rights Are Slipping Away (Part 5)!-Posted on We The People USA-By Jake Martinez-On May 11, 2013:

http://wethepeopleusa.ning.com/profiles/blogs/americans-like-nazi-g...

Note: The following articles, videos and audios relate to this disturbing and gut-wrenching issue:

Seizure of AP Phone Records Said to “Shock the American Conscience”!-Posted on The New American-By Jack Kenny-On May 14, 2013:

“News that the U.S. Department of Justice secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors working for the Associated Press has triggered a storm of protest from news organizations and civil libertarians and placed another potential scandal at the door of a White House already on the defensive over allegations of a cover-up in the Benghazi investigation and the IRS targeting conservative groups for added scrutiny and tax audits.

In what its top executive called a “massive and unprecedented intrusion” by the government into news gathering activities, the AP reported Monday that records were seized of calls from both office and personal phone numbers of individual reporters, and from general AP office numbers in New York, Washington, D.C., and Hartford, Connecticut, in addition to the main number for the AP in the House of Representatives press gallery. Records for more than 20 different phone lines assigned to the AP and its journalists were seized for the months of April and May, 2012, according to AP lawyers. More than 100 journalists work in the offices where the phone lines were targeted, the news agency said.

Ronald Machen, the U.S. attorney in Washington, sent notice of the action in a letter the AP received on Friday. The records were obtained through Justice Department subpoenas, though it is not known whether a judge or grand jury authorized the subpoenas, the AP said.

William Miller, a spokesman for Machen, told the New York Times that in general the U.S. attorney follows “all applicable laws, federal regulations and Department of Justice policies when issuing subpoenas for phone records of media organizations.” He would not address questions about the seizure of the AP records, however. “We do not comment on ongoing criminal investigations,” Miller said in an e-mail to the Times.

Machen’s letter did not say why the records were taken, but government officials have previously said in public that the U.S. attorney in Washington is conducting a criminal investigation into who may have provided information for a May 7, 2012, AP story about what was believed to be a foiled terror plot. The story disclosed details of a CIA operation in Yemen that supposedly stopped an al-Qaeda plot to detonate a bomb on an airplane bound for the United States. Five reporters and an editor who worked on that story were among those whose phone records wee seized, the AP said.

The alleged bomber was later revealed to be a CIA spy attempting to penetrate the Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

John Brennan, then the president’s counterterrorism advisor and currently head of the CIA, said in written testimony to the Senate that an “irresponsible and damaging leak of classified information was made ... when someone informed The Associated Press that the U.S. government had intercepted an IED (improvised explosive device) that was supposed to be used in an attack and that the U.S. government currently had that IED in its possession and was analyzing it.”

The Associated Press said Monday it had delayed reporting the story at the request of government officials, and published it only after officials said publication would no longer jeopardize national security. The story went out while the Obama administration continued to request that it be withheld until the administration could make an official announcement, the AP said.

In a strongly worded letter of protest to Attorney General Eric Holder, AP President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Pruitt demanded the return of the phone records and destruction of all copies.

“There can be no possible justification for such an overbroad collection of the telephone communications of The Associated Press and its reporters,” Pruitt wrote. “These records potentially reveal communications with confidential sources across all of the newsgathering activities undertaken by the AP during a two-month period, provide a road map to AP’s newsgathering operations and disclose information about AP’s activities and operations that the government has no conceivable right to know.”

Holder announced last June the Justice Department was conducting two investigations of news leaks, one into revelations about the alleged bombing plot in Yemen, and the other into reports of U.S. cyber warfare against Iran’s nuclear program.

The New York Times said Monday the investigation into the cyberwar leaks is believed to be focused on Times reporter David Sanger, who has written news stories and a book about a joint American-Israeli effort to sabotage Iranian nuclear centrifuges with the so-called Stuxnet virus. The Justice Department would not respond to the Times’ query as to whether it had taken steps in the Times investigation similar to the seizure of the AP phone records. A lawyer for the newspapers said he had had no contact of any sort from the government.

Holder’s announcement last June came at a time when some members of Congress were calling for a crackdown on leaks, following news stories about the bomb plot, the cyberwar efforts, the president’s “kill list” for targeting suspected terrorists with drone strikes, and revelations about the raid that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Republicans charged the Obama administration with leaking the information in an election year to enhance the president’s reputation for prosecuting the war on terror, a charge denied at the White House. Thirty-one Republican senators signed a letter to Holder, calling on the attorney general to immediately appoint a special counsel to investigate national security leaks from the executive branch. The GOP lawmakers named National Security Advisor Thomas Donilon as a likely source of leaks for Sanger’s book, Confront and Conceal.

Arnie Robbins, executive director of the American Society of News Editors, called the seizure of AP phone records “a disturbing affront to a free press. It’s also troubling because it is consistent with perhaps the most aggressive administration ever against reporters doing their jobs — providing information that citizens need to know about our government.” The Obama administration has prosecuted six criminal cases against people accused of revealing classified information, more than all previous administrations combined, the AP said. According to the British publication, the Guardian, those prosecuted have included a former CIA officer for revealing details to journalists about waterboarding, and a former member of the National Security Agency for disclosing that the agency was about to spend millions of dollars on a software program that he said was more expensive than a similar program developed in-house.

The president’s press secretary, Jay Carney, said the White House was not behind the seizure of the AP phone records.

“Other than press reports, we have no knowledge of any attempt by the Justice Department to seek phone records of the A.P.,” he said, adding “we are not involved in decisions made in connection with criminal investigations.”

The Newspaper Association of America issued a statement saying the Justice Department actions “shock the American conscience and violate the critical freedom of the press protected by the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.”

“The attorney general must explain the Justice Department’s actions to the public so that we can make sure this kind of press intimidation does not happen again,” said Laura Murphy, the director of American Civil Liberty Union’s Washington legislative office.

The seizure was roundly criticized on Capitol Hill as well. “The First Amendment is first for a reason,” said House Speaker John Boehner “If the Obama Administration is going after reporters’ phone records, they better have a damned good explanation.”

“The Fourth Amendment is not just a protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, it is a fundamental protection for the First Amendment and all other Constitutional rights,” said Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky ) “It sets a high bar — a warrant — for the government to take actions that could chill exercise of any of those rights. We must guard it with all the vigor that we guard other constitutional protections.”

Source:

http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/constitution/item/15396-seizur...

Obama’s Scandals Stem from His Lawless Presidency!-Posted on Investors.com-On May 14, 2013:

“Last Friday, after the Associated Press learned about the Justice Department’s sweeping seizure of its phone records, AP CEO Gary Pruitt said “there can be no possible justification” for the action.

No doubt that’s true. But there also seems to be no possible justification for the many other scandals now swamping the Obama administration — from Benghazi, to the IRS scandal to the White House’s attempt to shake down health companies for ObamaCare money.

Except that they all stem from a common root — President Obama’s callous disregard for the rule of law.

When not grousing about “this big, messy, tough democracy,” or joking about having the IRS audit groups that don’t do his bidding, or talking about how “we’re gonna punish our enemies” (meaning his political opponents), Obama has repeatedly and casually flouted legal roadblocks whenever they got in the way of his agenda.

Last year, for example, his Health and Human Services department said it would allow waivers to work requirements for welfare benefits, despite the welfare reform law’s clear prohibition against such waivers.

His National Labor Relations Board put out a “snap elections” rule meant to achieve the same goal as a union-backed “card check” law that Congress defeated. And he unilaterally gutted No Child Left Behind by offering blanket waivers to states.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor issued a scathing report on the Obama administration last October, titled “The Imperial Presidency,” in which he documented these and dozens of other examples of “breakdowns in the rule of law” under Obama.

Even the New York Times took notice of the “increasingly deliberate pattern by the administration to circumvent lawmakers.”

And on at least two occasions, courts have ruled that Obama’s actions violated the law.

In January, a federal court said Obama improperly made several “recess” appointments, despite the fact that the Senate was still in session.

In April, a judge ruled against Obama’s effort to enact parts of the controversial DREAM immigration law by executive order, saying the Department of Homeland Security “does not have discretion to refuse to initiate removal proceedings” of illegal immigrants.

So it should come as no surprise that other government officials have been following Obama’s lead, brushing aside legal niceties when they got in the way of their political agendas.

In its attempt to determine the source of a leak about a foiled terrorist attack that AP reported on, for example, the Justice Department seized records of 20 phone lines that more than 100 journalists had access to.”

Source:

http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/051413-656026-obama-scanda...

Obama’s Secret Army And Why We Should Fear It!-Posted on Personal Liberty Digest-By John Myers-On May 15, 2013:

http://personalliberty.com/2013/05/15/obamas-secret-army-and-why-we...

Rand Sums It Up: Obama Is Drunk On Power!-Posted on Personal Liberty Digest-By Ben Bullard-On May 15, 2013:

http://personalliberty.com/2013/05/15/rand-sums-it-up-obama-is-drun...

Democratic senator pressured IRS to investigate nonprofits!-Posted on FredBeacon.com-By Alana Goodman-On May 14, 2013:

http://freebeacon.com/under-pressure-2/

Obama Obscures Scandal With MORE Scandal!-Posted on Last Resistance-By Frank Camp-On May 15, 2013:

http://lastresistance.com/2110/obama-obscures-scandal-with-more-sca...

Video: IRS, Benghazi, and the AP: What do all three scandals have in common?-Posted on GlennBeck.com-On May 15, 2013:

http://www.glennbeck.com/2013/05/15/irs-benghazi-and-the-ap-what-do...

Video: AP Waited A Week To Publicize Telephone Probe!-Posted on InfoWars.com-By Infowars.com-On May 15, 2013:

http://www.infowars.com/ap-waited-a-week-to-publicize-telephone-probe/

Video: Sec. Donald Rumsfeld: Obama is leading from behind!-Posted on GlennBeck.com-On May 15, 2013:

http://www.glennbeck.com/2013/05/15/sec-donald-rumsfeld-obama-is-le...

Video: Axelrod: Government ‘So Vast,‘ Obama Can’t Know About Wrongd...!-Posted on Natioanl Review Online-By Andrew Johnson-On May 15, 2013:

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/348346/scarborough-goes-axelro...

Obama The Obtuse!-Posted on Personal Liberty Digest-By Bob Livingston-On May 15, 2013:

http://personalliberty.com/2013/05/15/obama-the-obtuse/

US dictatorship and its free fall!-Posted on VT News-By Gordon Duff and Press TV-On May 15, 2013:

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2013/05/15/us-dictatorship-and-its-fre...

Audio: Steve Quayle & “V,” The Guerilla Economist!-Posted on The Hagmann and Hagmann Report-On May 14, 2013:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/cfp-radio/2013/05/15/the-hagmann-hagma...

105 Articles of Impeachment against Obama!-Posted on Conservative Papers-By PETER PATON-On April 4, 2012:

http://conservativepapers.com/news/2012/04/0/a-case-for-impeaching-...

WHITE HOUSE WANTS POSTERS TO PROMOTE GUN CONTROL!-Posted on NewsWithViews.com-By Chuck Baldwin-On May 16, 2013:

http://www.newswithviews.com/baldwin/baldwin753.htm

CLAIM: OBAMA CAMPAIGN CO-CHAIR ATTACKED ROMNEY WITH LEAKED IRS DOCS!-Posted on Big Government-By MATTHEW BOYLE-On May 14, 2013:

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/05/14/Obama-campaign-c...

Surprise: IRS Employees Gave Disproportionately to Obama!-Posted on National Review-By Andrew Stiles-On May 15, 2013:

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/348417/irs-employees-dispropo...

Liberal Organization With Ties To George Soros Got Documents From IRS!-Posted on Freedom Outpost-By Dean Garrison-On May 15, 2013:

http://freedomoutpost.com/2013/05/liberal-organization-with-ties-to...

IRS Sued for Improperly Seizing the Medical Records of 10 Million Americans!-Posted on The Daily Caller-By Caroline May, Political Reporter-On May 15, 2013:

http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/15/irs-sued-for-improperly-seizing-t...

A Brief History of Slimy Dem Snoops and Dumpster Divers!-Posted on Townhall-By Michelle Malkin-On May 15, 2013:

http://townhall.com/columnists/michellemalkin/2013/05/15/a-brief-hi...

President Obama’s Allies do More Damage in Days Than GOP Did in Four Years!-Posted on Washington Examiner-By Brian Hughes, White House Correspondent, The Washington Examiner-On May 15, 2013:

http://washingtonexaminer.com/president-obama-allies-do-more-damage...

Triumphing over Darkness!-Posted on The Hagmann & Hagmann Report-On May 15, 2013:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/cfp-radio/2013/05/16/the-hagmann-hagma...

Note: My following blogs relate to and/or further support this disturbing and gut-wrenching issue-You Decide:

Letter To NM U.S. Senator Udall (Re: Request Non-Partisan Congressional Investigations)!-Posted on We The People USA-By Jake Martinez-On May 14, 2013:

http://wethepeopleusa.ning.com/profiles/blogs/letter-to-nm-u-s-sena...

Blowing a whistle on Benghazi: There’s no hiding four murders (Part 1)!

http://wethepeopleusa.ning.com/profiles/blogs/blowing-a-whistle-on-...

Letter To NM U.S. Senator Udall (Re: Questionable and/or mysterious circumstances surrounding Boston Marathon bombing)!

http://wethepeopleusa.ning.com/profiles/blogs/letter-to-nm-u-s-sena...

NY Times: Terrorist Plots, Hatched by the F.B.I. (Part 5)!

http://wethepeopleusa.ning.com/profiles/blogs/ny-times-terrorist-pl...

The Greatest Fraud Perpetrated in American History!

http://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2011/06/20/the-greatest-fraud-perpetr...

Are We Witnessing Narcissism At Work?

http://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2011/10/27/are-we-witnessing-narcissi...

Progressives and Communists Are Out of the Closet Together!

http://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2010/10/05/progressives-and-communist...

Who owns our supposedly fair and balanced airwaves and news outlets?

http://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2010/10/21/who-owns-our-supposedly-fa...

Obamanites Get Violent in Support of the Agenda!

http://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2010/04/05/obamanites-get-violent-in-...

Nearly 80 percent don’t trust the government!

http://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2010/04/19/nearly-80-percent-don’t-tr...

Where Is America Today?

http://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2010/05/26/where-is-america-today-2/

Note: The following videos are extremely appropriate today:

The Fightin Side of Me!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32-OyyLJzHw&feature=player_embe...

When Injustice Becomes Law, Resistance Becomes Duty!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrqO_Hljf08

Note: Please read Part 7 regarding this disturbing and gut-wrenching issue:

Americans – Like Nazi Germans – Don’t Notice that All of Our Rights Are Slipping Away (Part 7)!-Posted on We The People USA-By Jake Martinez-On May 18, 2013:

http://wethepeopleusa.ning.com/profiles/blogs/americans-like-nazi-g...

Note: If you have a problem viewing any of the listed blog posts, please copy website and paste it on your browser. Sure seems like any subject matter that may be considered controversial by this administration is being censored-What happened to free speech?-You Decide: