ROGER AILES: A Battle Cry for Press Freedom

It is absolutely stunning to me that the media remains -- for the most part -- silent on the James Rosen matter. It has yet to unleash the dogs of war on the Obama administration for its unprecedented attacks on the First Amendment. Sure, The New York Times Editorial Board issued a milquetoast, David-Sirota-like warning. As did Erik Wemple of The Washington Post: "Stop! Or I'll yell 'Stop' again!"

Someone needs to sounds the alarm klaxons. The media should be on Star Trek's proverbial RED ALERT, because after Fox and Sharyl Attkisson are dispensed with, the rest of the restive press will be in the cross-hairs.

Roger Ailes, founder of the Fox News network, recognizes this.

Dear colleagues,

The recent news about the FBI’s seizure of the phone and email records of Fox News employees, including James Rosen, calls into question whether the federal government is meeting its constitutional obligation to preserve and protect a free press in the United States. We reject the government's efforts to criminalize the pursuit of investigative journalism and falsely characterize a Fox News reporter to a Federal judge as a "co-conspirator" in a crime.

I know how concerned you are because so many of you have asked me: why should the government make me afraid to use a work phone or email account to gather news or even call a friend or family member? Well, they shouldn’t have done it. The administration’s attempt to intimidate Fox News and its employees will not succeed and their excuses will stand neither the test of law, the test of decency, nor the test of time. We will not allow a climate of press intimidation, unseen since the McCarthy era, to frighten any of us away from the truth.

I am proud of your tireless effort to report the news over the last 17 years. I stand with you, I support you and I thank you for your reporting with courageous optimism. Too many Americans fought and died to protect our unique American right of press freedom. We can’t and we won’t forget that. To be an American journalist is not only a great responsibility, but also a great honor. To be a Fox journalist is a high honor, not a high crime. Even this memo of support will cause some to demonize us and try to find irrelevant things to cause us to waver. We will not waver.

As Fox News employees, we sometimes are forced to stand alone, but even then when we know we are reporting what is true and what is right, we stand proud and fearless. Thank you for your hard work and all your efforts.

Sincerely,

Roger Ailes

Left or right, the media should be terrified at this aggression on the part of the Obama White House. Along with the actions of the IRS, it is intended to suppress and constrain free speech, not encourage it.

It is fascism, straight up.

Tell you what: now that we know Democrats approve of this kind of action, when a Republican gets in power, perhaps we can secretly audit the whacked-out kook Janeane Garofalo. After all, it would appear that vintage media approves.