In 2013, the United States Department of Justice, under Attorney General Eric Holder, came under scrutiny from the media and some members of Congress for subpoenaing phone records from the Associated Press (AP).
AP reported the Justice Department would not say why it sought the records, but news sources noted the US Attorney's office for the District of Columbia was conducting a criminal investigation into a May 7, 2012 Associated Press story about a CIA operation which prevented the Yemeni terrorist Fahd al-Quso's plot to detonate an explosive device on a commercial flight.
"[5][6] The US Attorney's office in Washington responded that federal investigators seek records from news outlets only after making "every reasonable effort to obtain information through alternative means.
Fox News contributor Judge Andrew Napolitano commented: "This is the first time that the federal government has moved to this level of taking ordinary, reasonable, traditional, lawful reporter skills and claiming they constitute criminal behavior.
"[14] Dana Milbank of the Washington Post stated: "The Rosen affair is as flagrant an assault on civil liberties as anything done by George W. Bush's administration, and it uses technology to silence critics in a way Richard Nixon could only have dreamed of.
To treat a reporter as a criminal for doing his job — seeking out information the government doesn't want made public — deprives Americans of the First Amendment freedom on which all other constitutional rights are based.
"[15] Days prior on May 15, 2013, Attorney General Holder had testified under oath in front of the House Judiciary Committee that he had recused himself from the leak investigations to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest.
"[19] Members of Congress and media figures have questioned the motivations behind the Justice Department's actions, and if they were even warranted: "For five days, reporters at the Associated Press had been sitting on a big scoop about a foiled Al-Qaeda plot at the request of CIA officials.
"[21] The U.S. Department of Justice undertook a comprehensive evaluation of their practices and policies regarding issuing subpoenas, search warrants and court orders to obtain records or information from journalists, meeting with stakeholders in the news media, First Amendment advocates, and members of the Congress.