Squealing like a stuck pig

by Trevor Timm

In a Senate Judiciary Hearing on NSA surveillance today, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper insinuated dozens of journalists reporting on documents leaked by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden were "accomplices" to a crime. His spokesman further suggested Clapper was referring to journalists after the hearing had concluded.
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If this is the official stance of the US government, it is downright chilling.
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Clapper is engaged in the same treatment of journalists that the Justice Department allegedly repudiated just months ago.
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During his opening statement to the committee, Clapper said, "Snowden claims that he's won and that his mission has accomplished. If that is so, I call on him and his accomplices to facilitate the return of the remaining stolen documents." Mashable then reported a DNI spokesman said Clapper meant "anyone who is assisting Edward Snowden further harm our nation through the unauthorized disclosure of stolen documents." The spokesman would not elaborate further.
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"Assisting…through unauthorized disclosure" sounds an awful lot like publishing, which is what not only Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras and Barton Gellman have done, but dozens of reporters and editors at the Washington Post, Guardian, New York Times, Pro Publica, and NBC News.

US intel chief James Clapper: journalists reporting on leaked Snowden NSA docs "accomplices" to crime