NBC News chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd on Wednesday said that the Department of Justice’s surveillance of Fox News reporter James Rosen is proof that the Obama administration wants to “criminalize journalism.”
During an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Todd said that Obama likely would have condemned such actions if they had been authorized by former President George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney. As president, Todd said, Obama’s motives are clear.
“You can’t look at this and see it as anything other than an attempt to basically scare anybody from ever leaking anything ever again,” Todd said. “So, they want to criminalize journalism and that’s what it’s coming down to.”
He added that he’s already dealt with sources who are now wary about disclosing information in the wake of the DOJ’s aggressive pursuit of leaks. But last year, Todd seemed to take the opposite side of this debate when he argued that “somebody needs to plug” leaks related to the Trayvon Martin case in Florida.
