Decius wrote:
Mr. Gonzales said that the administration promoted and respected the right of the press that is protected under the First Amendment. "But it can't be the case that that right trumps over the right that Americans would like to see, the ability of the federal government to go after criminal activity," he said.
U: You can download the video. This IS essentially what he said. He kind of stumbles around a bit and its a live interview and an unanticipated question. If this wording appeared in print it would be a more serious problem. As it is, its troubling, but it remains to be seen what they are going to do.
Its also worth pointing out that the question he was asked was about the collection of dialed phone number information from journalists. The answer he gave was about the legal authorization process that he goes through before doing content surveillance, which is NOT dialed phone number information. He simply answered a totally unrelated question. Most viewers would not pick up on the distinction.
Considering the context and the lack of a direct relationship between the answer given and the question asked, I suspect Gonzales is trying very quietly to drop hints to people to be extra careful about this sort of thing because he thinks they're likely to be asked to start arresting journalists for releasing leaked, but politically embarassing information.
