Now, two others have come forward claiming that they were threatened by the White House in the same manner.
Former Bill Clinton staffer Lanny Davis, who now writes for the Washington Times, says that the paper was threatened with having its White House Press credentials revoked, and have access to members of the White House staff limited.
A third journalist, Ron Fournier, is also claiming that he was sent an e-mail stating(Link): As editor-in-chief of National Journal, I received several e-mails and telephone calls from this White House official filled with vulgarity, abusive language, and virtually the same phrase that Woodward called a veiled threat. “You will regret staking out that claim.”
Former Clinton Staffer Lanny Davis Speaks of White House Threats
Bob Woodward Tells Wolf Blitzer of Being Threatened by White house
Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that the President was completely unaware of this type of communication coming out of the White House. Assume that he instructed his staff to "do whatever it takes" to stop the negative press he has been receiving. He knows, or should know, that these are the kind of tactics they will use. They are the tactics he used as a community organizer. In fact, he has done worse. When he first won his Illinois State Senate seat, Obama had both of his opponents, first in the Democrat primary, then the general election, smeared by leaking his opponents "sealed" court records. He has surrounded himself with Communists (Van Jones), Mao admirers (Anita Dunn), and a bevy of others with ties to communist and socialist groups. (Link) And then there is the fact that he came up through the political ranks in the hard-nosed, no-holds-barred school of Chicago politics.
Thomas Jefferson wrote, ""Our liberty cannot be guarded but by the freedom of the press, nor that be limited without danger of losing it." That Obama and his White House are threatening journalists and news editors is meant to send a chill through the media, particularly for young journalists who are trying to 'break through' in the highly competitive D.C. media. The message is clear: If you want to have access to the right people, you better play ball! In other words: Be a stenographer for us. Write what we tell you to write, or your sources are going to dry up.
So far, the left and the media are reacting predictably. They are attacking the whistleblowers, particularly Woodward, who is being ridiculed and called "senile"(Link). The same Bob Woodward who has been a hero to the left for exposing the Watergate break-in, which brought down the Nixon Presidency, is now senile and someone to be mocked when he is critical of someone they are in loooove with. Despite all of the thrills up the legs of these hacks, having multiple people coming out of the woodwork with virtually the same story may give this story enough legs that even they can no longer ignore this Administration's attempt to silence it's critics in the media.
