November 15, 2013 / by emptywheel

 

The Second Page, Glenn Greenwald Edition

On the first page of a WaPo story on an Eric Holder speech, it says this.

Holder indicated that the Justice Department is not planning to prosecute former Guardian reporter Glenn Greenwald, one of the journalists who received documents from Snowden and has written a series of stories based on the leaked material. Greenwald, an American citizen who lives in Brazil, has said he is reluctant to come to the U.S. because he fears detention and possible prosecution.

Based on that, I think, a slew of journalists are reporting that DOJ will not prosecute Glenn Greenwald.

Then click the link:

 

Screen shot 2013-11-15 at 8.51.55 PM

 

And here’s what it says:

“Unless information that has not come to my attention is presented to me, what I have indicated in my testimony before Congress is that any journalist who’s engaged in true journalistic activities is not going to be prosecuted by this Justice Department,” Holder said.

“I certainly don’t agree with what Greenwald has done,” Holder said. “In some ways, he blurs the line between advocate and journalist. But on the basis of what I know now, I’m not sure there is a basis for prosecution of Greenwald.” [my emphasis]

In this passage, which is admittedly not a transcript, Holder seems to distinguish between “true journalistic activities” and “advocate.”

If that is, in fact, fair syntax, then it suggests something troubling. Not just that Holder remains open to be persuaded that journalist Glenn Greenwald might be prosecutable. But that the “line” is drawn where “journalism” turns to “advocacy.”

Damn. I hope he tells our founding fathers, because it sounds like he might well have prosecuted a sizable chunk of those advocate journalists.

 

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Originally Posted @ https://www.emptywheel.net/2013/11/15/the-second-page-glenn-greenwald-edition/