Journalists Grill White House Over Glenn Greenwald Detention Scandal

[Catherina]

Journalists Grill White House Over Glenn Greenwald Detention Scandal

The Huffington Post | By Jack Mirkinson Posted: 08/19/2013 2:27 pm EDT





The detention of Glenn Greenwald's partner was a big topic at the White House briefing on Monday.

Deputy press secretary Josh Earnest made some news when he revealed that the United States had been given a "heads up" by Britain that it was going to detain David Miranda, who was held for nine hours at London's Heathrow airport on Sunday.

This got reporters interested. Some of the questions they asked:

"Is (David Miranda) on a watchlist?"

"The United States, when given the heads up, just said, OK?"

"Did the United States discourage the action?"

"Is it fair to say that if the United States had discouraged it, you would tell us?"

"How far in advance (was the US informed)?"

"In advance of his detention, American officials were informed?"

...

Chuck Todd, who did much of the questioning, tweeted:


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/19/white-house-reporters-glenn-greenwald-detention_n_3781000.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

[Pretzel_Warrior]

1. Chuck Todd is a truth molester.

[Maedhros]

40. Aaaand an ad hominem right out of the gate.

(slow clap).

Try, try, TRY to deflect! It's your only hope!

[Cali_Democrat]

2. The United States did not detain Greenwald's partner

It was the UK. All questions related to that detention should be directed to the UK.

Also, this is a scandal?

Ummm....right.

[railsback]

3. File under:

Benghazi. IRS. Obama's STASI.

[FSogol]

10. Benghazi!

[LordGlenconner]

36. Stasi!!11!!!!

And...and....they are watching us through our teevees!!!!!!!1!!!1!!!!

And...

STASI!!!!

[JDPriestly]

42. Yes. How much do you know about the STASI?

It has always amazed me how little we heard about it once the Berlin Wall was gone.

A lot of people have no idea what it really was.

And the American authorities including the NSA have good reason to try to keep the information about he working of the STASI out of American new reports.

I hope that everyone has watched this video which was posted by SnappyTurtle recently.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017139372

[cui bono]

7. Yeah, because the UK has never done the US' bidding in the past.

Yeah, right.

[Cali_Democrat]

9. The White House has more important things to worry about...

than conspiracy theories which imply the US was behind this detention.

Sorry.

[cui bono]

13. Yeah, they have Snowden to worry about, hence their wanting him detained.

They didn't stop it did they? Why not?

Again, can you think of any other time the UK has done the US' bidding? Try really hard, I know you can do it. (you make it really difficult to avoid being snarky, maybe I'll come back and edit this out)

[KittyWampus]

14. The USA should stop the UK from detaining people now? LOL!

[cui bono]

15. You realize that your LOL only shows how difficult it has become for you to keep

being an NSA/Admin apologist. Oh, you hate being called that? Then don't act like one.

You really think the UK stopped him all on his own because they thought he was a terrorist? Please provide something to back that up.

[leftynyc]

34. What horseshit

You have no proof the US asked the UK to do anything but it's up to the other poster to prove they didn't? Is that how journalism works in yours and GG's world? And you wonder why he loses credibility every single day.

[cui bono]

50. The UK used the terrorism law, so yes, they should provide evidence they thought he

was a terrorist.

And by the way... what made you think I'm a journalist? And why are you linking me with GG? We are not colleagues.

[totodeinhere]

48. The White House was given advance notice of the UK's intention to detain Miranda.

It sounds like they were in on it up to their elbows.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/uk-police-urged-to-explain-detention-of-reporter-glenn-greewalds-partner/2013/08/19/f2a3159c-08d9-11e3-89fe-abb4a5067014_story.html

[Autumn]

17. Never. Why, I remember when bush tried to get them to join us in the war in Iraq,

oops, well there was that time....... shit. The Poodle said arf, arf.

[progressoid]

12. So why did the UK notified the US?

I suppose they do that every time they detain a Brazilian citizen.

[geek tragedy]

18. They didn't ask us when they shot a Brazilian in the head point blank, nt

[progressoid]

23. huh?

[geek tragedy]

24. .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Charles_de_Menezes

The British are more than capable of pulling off gross violation of foreign citizens' rights without our input.

[progressoid]

28. So the question still stands, "why notify us?"

If The British are more than capable of pulling off gross violation of foreign citizens' rights without our input, why bother telling us?

[geek tragedy]

29. Could be any number of reasons.

Could be standard protocol. Could be they wanted to suck up to us. Could be because Miranda is married to a US citizen. Could be to simply give a heads up so the US knew what was going on and didn't get caught by surprise.

[progressoid]

32. Exactly.

Which is why it's perfectly valid for the media to ask.

Cali Democrat's assertion that "All questions related to that detention should be directed to the UK" is bogus. This involves the US too.

[Savannahmann]

16. Apparently you missed the Deputy Press Secretary say

The United States was given a Heads Up. So we were notified BEFORE it happened. No, I am not saying we ordered it, but we are certainly complicit to a certain extent.

[Cali_Democrat]

27. Ummm

I didn't miss that. In fact, I posted the exact quote.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3490596

[Savannahmann]

31. Then you agree to a certain complicity

Good to know. Interesting also that the Brits felt that the Americans would be interested.

[morningfog]

39. Not a scandal, just business as usual.

I am curious about what the US said to the UK about Miranda before the detention. I mean before the head's up was given. And why the UK felt it necessary to give the heads up. There is a reason.

[tblue37]

41. I do consider it a scandal when supposedly free societies--

whether the US, Great Britain, any others, or a combination of the above--engage in harassment and detention of the relatives or associates of people they have a problem with, especially if the problem they have is that their original target person is annoying them not because of violating a law, but because he/she is an investigating journalist who is exposing questionable government practices that directly attack the civil liberties of citizens.

Our State Department expressed outrage at Putin for harassing and detaining the loved ones or associates of journalists in their efforts to suppress honest journalism in Russia. I hope the same outrage will be officially expressed at GB for this incident--but somehow I don't think it will.

[Hydra]

4. Wow, 3 Ministry of Truthiness posts so far... n/t

[GeorgeGist]

22. Orwell would be proud.

[dkf]

51. Lol...too perfect.

[Little Star]

5. k&r There Are None So Blind As Those Who Will Not See....

I think your going to see plenty of this in your thread, sad to say.

Reminds me of The three monkeys, who see no evil, hear no evil, speaks no evil.

[Aerows]

6. See, I would have thought

that since some of the information that came to light was *also* embarrassing to the UK that they would have done it on their own. Now it looks like they are bragging about it to the US, like it was US lead.

It rather makes the UK look more like the US lapdog than if they had just done it themselves with no prompting. Crowing about it to the US makes them look like children that want a pat on the head.

Not a good place to be, really.

[Catherina]

25. They should change the name of the White House lapdog from Bo to Cameron

and get 4 more they can call Spain, Italy, Portugal and France.

Lapdogs and equal opportunity partners in crime, all at the same time.

The UK citizens picked up on this, after laughing at Spain, Italy, Portugal and France over the subservience in bringing down Morales' plane, and they're none too pleased. Good, we need more outrage throughout the world to reign this in.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

8. The CYA from the White House has become laughable.

[George II]

44. The White House has to "CYA" for the British government? Since when?

[KittyWampus]

11. Glen Greenwald was detained now? LOL!

[GeorgeGist]

20. Who is Glen Greenwald? LOL!

Name-spelling errors by intelligence peeps facilitated the Boston Marathon Bombing.

[George II]

55. Pointing out typos on internet posts has been considered improper for decades.

[AppetiteForApathy]

19. Did I miss that day in history class?

I don't recall any historical event that put the UK under American rule.

[Catherina]

26. Blair was routinely called the US lapdog in Europe

it seems to be an inherited trait. Personally, I think it's more like the complicity of partners in crime.

[xchrom]

30. Du rec. Nt

[Rex]

33. Chuck Todd come on down! You are the next person to get under the bus!

Now gettt!!!!

[Catherina]

35. Lol! Looks like it's time we switched because there are more people under the bus than on it now

[Rex]

37. LOL!

They just decided there are enough people to CARRY the bus...so where to?

[Catherina]

38. Democracy?

[Rex]

49. Sorry we are fresh out of those.

Not in this country.

[Segami]

53. LOL!

Nice.

[George II]

43. Why should the White House have to try to explain the actions of another sovereign government?

[totodeinhere]

45. The questions were about what role our government might have played in the UK's detention of

Miranda if any. It turns out that we were given a heads up by the UK as the article indicates. So it's a legitimate topic of discussion.

[totodeinhere]

47. Just to be clear, reports are that the White House was given advance notice of the intention to

detain Miranda. It wasn't a case of being notified after the fact.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/uk-police-urged-to-explain-detention-of-reporter-glenn-greewalds-partner/2013/08/19/f2a3159c-08d9-11e3-89fe-abb4a5067014_story.html

[George II]

54. I don't follow, but.........sure those questions were asked...

...why didn't the OP include the ANSWERS to those questions? Anyone have those answers?

Obviously if the UK government felt that they should advise the US that they WERE going to detain him, the US had nothing to do with the decision to detain him, correct?

[totodeinhere]

56. We don't know the answer to that question. And frankly I don't

trust our government to necessarily tell the truth about what really happened.

[George II]

58. So we have this big fuss about something that no one can really say? Typical around here.

[alp227]

46. I speculate Josh Not So Earnest is hiding something really evil.

I mean whatever role the US had in this detention. Why else would Britain tell us?

[Segami]

52. K&R!

[Fire Walk With Me]

57. They detained Bolivian President Evo Morales for 12 hours on suspicion Snowden was in his plane.

They'll go to any length.

[sabrina 1]

59. I'm surprised they even asked any questions. Maybe it's finally dawning on them that they too

could be detained for being a Journalist. Good questions considering it's the Corporate Media.