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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhy shouldn’t David Gregory be charged with a crime?
Monday, Jun 24, 2013 09:45 PM +1000
Why shouldnt David Gregory be charged with a crime?
The NBC host thinks Glenn Greenwald may be a criminal. Here are 10 items to ponder about this gross double standard
By David Sirota
NBC's David Gregory
Two weeks into the hullabaloo surrounding whistle-blower Edward Snowden and Guardian reporter Glenn Greenwald, one thing is clear: They did not just reveal potentially serious crimes perpetrated by the government including possible perjury, unlawful spying and unconstitutional surveillance. They also laid bare in historic fashion the powerful double standards that now define most U.S. media coverage of the American government the kind that portray those who challenge power as criminals, and those who worship it as heroes deserving legal immunity. Indeed, after Meet the Press host David Gregorys instantly notorious performance yesterday, it is clear Snowdens revelations so brazenly exposed these double standards that it will be difficult for the Washington press corps to ever successfully hide them again.
The best way to see these double standards is to ponder 10 simple questions.
1. During that Meet the Press discussion yesterday of Greenwald publishing stories about Snowdens disclosures, Gregory asked Greenwald, Why shouldnt you, Mr. Greenwald, be charged with a crime? Beyond the odiousness of a supposed journalist like Gregory seeming to endorse criminal charges against journalists for the alleged crime of committing journalism, theres an even more poignant question suggested by Mother Jones David Corn: Why hasnt David Gregory asked reporters at the Washington Post, the Associated Press and Bloomberg News the same question, considering their publication of similar leaks? Is it because Greenwald is seen as representing a form of journalism too adversarial toward the government, while those establishment outlets are still held in Good Standing by Washington?
2. Trevor Timm of the Freedom of the Press Foundation asks a question that probably wont be asked of Gregory: Should Gregory himself be prosecuted? After all, as Trimm notes, when interviewing Greenwald, he repeated what government officials told him about classified FISA opinions. So will anyone of Gregorys stature in Washington go on national television and ask if Gregory should now be charged with a crime?
3. Later during the Meet the Press discussion of Greenwalds reporting, NBCs Chuck Todd demanded to know, How much was (Greenwald) involved in the plot?
What was his role did he have a role beyond simply being a receiver of this information? And is he going to have to answer those questions? Why did Todd not ask that same question of reporters at the Washington Post, the Associated Press and Bloomberg News? Again, is it because Greenwald is seen as representing a form of journalism too adversarial toward the government, while those establishment outlets are still held in Good Standing by Washington?
continued/read more: http://www.salon.com/2013/06/24/why_shouldnt_david_gregory_be_charged_with_a_crime/