I'd like to report a crime.

[kpete]

"What are they trying to hide?"

Gov't. commits a crime against you -- the taxpayers

I'd like to report a crime.
more:
http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=695&sid=latest

.......................

April 10, 2009 11:57 AM
VA Authorities Confiscate Tape of Journalist Reporting on Bad Treatment of Veterans

A stunning story about 26-year-old reporter David Schultz of local NPR station WAMU-FM and a graduate of the University of Arizona.

Schultz was working on a story http://wamu.org/news/09/04/09.php#25959 about a veteran alleging bad treatment at the hands of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Tommie Canady, a 56-year-old veteran with a terminal pancreatic disease, says he gets horrible care.

Gloria Hairston, a VA communications specialist, along with two other employees and four armed security guards, stopped Schultz and wouldn’t let him leave until he handed over his equipment. After a confrontation, when Hairston warned Schultz it would get "ugly," he says, the young reporter gave her the memory card from his tape recorder.

"What I mostly feel bad about is Mr. Canady," Schultz told WTOP-AM radio here in DC. "He was trying to tell his story, he has an amazing story and he was denied a chance to tell his story to the media because of these tactics."

......................

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/04/va-authorities.html

[babylonsister]

1. So much for freedom of the press. I hope there's someone he can

report this to. :grr:

[hendo]

2. you thought the press was free? NT

[babylonsister]

3. Some of it is. Some, not so much. nt

[wolfgangmo]

12. You read that wrong.

According to the military and corporations of america, that is freedom of suppress, not freedom of the press.

[Solly Mack]

4. K&R

[leftstreet]

5. K&R

[rvablue]

6. I know the reporter was young and mabye got intimidated, but as soon as that

"communications specialist" and those armed thugs asked for the memory card, Schultz should have refused and walked out.

If they had detained him it would have been kidnapping.

The only thing that would mitigate what the VA employees did was if Schultz somehow snuck in. But the story doesn't say anything about that.

Wish that kid had stuck up for his 1st amendment rights. But being that he did the reporting, hopefully he can recall enough detail to paraphrase a story anyway.

[Hissyspit]

7. He didn't have to give up the memory card. He shouldn't have been asked to give up the memory card.

He shouldn't have been given advice to give up the memory card.

Of course, it was his decision depending on how threatened he felt, but there was no legal basis for him to have to do it. I wish he had stood his ground.

[Poiuyt]

8. That's the way I felt too

What kind of state secrets would he have recorded that gave them the right to confiscate his equipment?

[AtomicKitten]

9. Yikes. That's no good. :(

[truedelphi]

10. Sad treatment of journalist reporting this conditions. n/t

[KakistocracyHater]

11. this isn't the 1970s-that press is dead

& I know it, I absolutely feel revulsion whenever tv or films try to make like the press is actually investigating or holding our politicians to account-it just isn't happening. I wish to any god it were so...Again, where is Sybil Edmonds? while we're at it?

[Dirigo]

13. Veterans Hospital Shakedown Of Journalist

I regret the well intention journalist didn't have the presence of mind or organizational skills to simply wire over the telephone before leaving the hospital all the data to an off premise storage in the event such an incident would occur. What a story that would have made and how damning it would have been. Technology is to be used not confiscated by rent-a-cop in the front lobby. He could have simply advised the security guard "look you're wasting your time, I want a receipt for my equipment, the data has already been wired to the office and your intervention in suppressing the news will also be duly noted." Kapish?

[tbyg52]

14. I wonder how hard it would be

to modify a camera to have a fake memory card slot, so you could hand over *that* one. Or record on internal memory - some cameras have that, thought it's not very large.