FOXNews.com: Correspondents' association concerned government 'too aggressive' in tracking journalists

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Correspondents' association concerned government 'too aggressive' in tracking journalists May 21st 2013, 20:53 The White House Correspondents' Association said Tuesday that two recent cases in which the Obama administration went after reporters' phone and email records show the government may be getting "far too aggressive" in tracking journalists.  The association's board spoke out after the Justice Department secretly obtained two months of phone records from the Associated Press and obtained a search warrant for the personal emails of Fox News' James Rosen.  In the latter case, an FBI agent also claimed in an affidavit that Rosen was possibly a criminal "co-conspirator."  Though no charges were brought against Rosen, the White House Correspondents' Association said no journalist should even face that threat for doing their jobs.  "Reporters should never be threatened with prosecution for the simple act of doing their jobs," the WHCA said in a statement Tuesday. "The problem is that in two recent cases, one involving Fox News' James Rosen and the other focused on the Associated Press, serious questions have been raised about whether our government has gotten far too aggressive in its monitoring of reporters' movements, phone records, and even personal email." " The statement went on: "We do not know all of the facts in these cases, so we will just say this in general: Our country was founded on the principle of freedom of the press and nothing is more sacred to our profession. So we stand in strong solidarity with our colleagues who have been scrutinized. And in terms of the administration, ultimately what will matter more in all of these cases is action not words."  Earlier, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said President Obama believes reporters shouldn't be prosecuted for doing their jobs. The association said it agreed.  The WHCA's board is led by Fox News' Ed Henry.  The statement comes after court documents showed the Justice Department obtained a portfolio of information about Rosen's conversations and visits to the State Department. This included a search warrant for his personal emails.  In an affidavit, an FBI agent claimed there's evidence the Fox News correspondent broke the law, "at the very least, either as an aider, abettor and/or co-conspirator."  Michael Clemente, Fox News' executive vice president of news, defended Rosen in a statement issued Monday afternoon.  "We are outraged to learn today that James Rosen was named a criminal co-conspirator for simply doing his job as a reporter," Clemente said. "In fact, it is downright chilling. We will unequivocally defend his right to operate as a member of what up until now has always been a free press."  In the case involving Rosen, a government adviser was accused of leaking information after a 2009 story was published online which said North Korea planned to respond to looming U.N. sanctions with another nuclear test.  Rosen said Monday that "as a reporter, I always honor the confidentiality of my dealings with all of my sources."  The Department of Justice said in a statement that "leaks of classified information to the press can pose a serious risk of harm to our national security and it is important that we pursue these matters using appropriate law enforcement tools."  The U.S. attorney's office for the District of Columbia also said the government, before seeking approval for the search warrant, "exhausted all reasonable non-media alternatives for collecting this evidence."

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