Department Of Justice Blamed For Criminalizing Journalism?

A startling move by the Obama administration's Department of Justice has many people unsure of what is to come next. While some claim they were perfectly within their rights, others are adamant that the DOJ is killing the freedom of press in America as we know it.

The debate centers around a report given by Fox News' James Rosen in 2009 predicting that North Korea would respond to any new U.N. sanctions with a missile test. Rosen got his intel from government adviser Stephen Jin-Woo Kim, who is now being charged as a spy against America.

"From the beginning of their relationship, the Reporter asked, solicited and encouraged Mr. Kim to disclose sensitive United States internal documents and intelligence information about the Foreign Country," FBI agent Reginald Reyes wrote in the search warrant application to obtain Rosen's emails. "The Reporter did so by employing flattery and playing to Mr. Kim's vanity and ego."

The government is standing by its claim that it has done nothing wrong, and that it is not attempting to stifle the freedom of the press. The Obama administration so far has only pressed charges against Mr. Kim, though his charges of espionage are substantial. 

"The government exhausted all reasonable non-media alternatives for collecting this evidence before seeking court approval for a search warrant. Based on the investigation and all of the facts known to date, no other individuals, including the reporter, have been charged since Mr. Kim was indicted nearly three years ago," a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia said.

Earlier on in the investigation, the Department of Justice had stated that any journalist working with Mr. Kim on the intel was to be considered a co-conspirator in the espionage act. They have since backed away from those statements, though many are still worried that the government is over-stepping its boundaries.

"We are outraged to learn today that James Rosen was named a criminal co-conspirator for simply doing his job as a reporter," said Michael Clemente, Fox News' executive vice president of news. "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."

This issue has become increasingly skewed for some time now. The United States has been steadfast in its opposition to Julian Assange's WikiLeaks project, another example of a man publicly divulging the information he was given from sources.

"With regard to the potential prosecution of the press for the disclosure of material, that is not something that I've ever been involved in, heard of or would think would be a wise policy," Attorney General Eric Holder stated.