Wednesday's CBS This Morning zeroed in on the House Judiciary Committee's inquiry into whether Attorney General Eric Holder lied under oath during his testimony regarding the Justice Department's controversial investigation of journalists. Jan Crawford's two-and-a-half minute report on the congressional investigation into Holder stood out as the only coverage on the Big Three networks on their Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning newscasts.
Crawford underlined that "conservative and liberal voices" are clamoring for Holder's resignation in the wake of the questionable surveillance of the Associated Press and Fox News' James Rosen. She also asserted that "everyone in Washington is talking about is whether...a survivor, like Eric Holder, gets drummed out."
The CBS journalist first played a clip of the attorney general's May 15, 2013 denial – that "with regard to the potential prosecution of the press for the disclosure of material, that is not something that I've ever been involved in or heard of, or would think would be a wise policy." She continued that a "Justice Department statement, released nine days after Holder's testimony, shows he was involved in...approving a search warrant for personal e-mails and cell phone records of Fox News reporter James Rosen....The warrant authorizing the search labeled Rosen as a potential criminal. Even Democrats were critical."
Crawford later pointed out that "Holder's approval of the Rosen search triggered calls from conservative and liberal voices for Holder to resign....But the one thing Holder has been able to count on: the support of the President." She also spotlighted how the top law enforcement official is "now looking into how the Justice Department handles these leak investigations, and critics say...that is just a terrible idea, that the attorney general can't investigate himself."
Near the end of the segment, the correspondent noted that "Holder has survived controversies before, including, as you recall, when he had to back away from his vow to try a top 9/11 terrorist in a civilian court." She concluded, "But now, what everyone in Washington is talking about is whether the President is going to continue to support his attorney general, or even a survivor, like Eric Holder, gets drummed out."
Back on May 23, 2013, Crawford also gave the first full report on the Rosen investigation on the Big Three's morning and evening newscasts. She spotlighted the "unprecedented" surveillance of the Fox News journalist and how it "sparked a rare thing in Washington: bipartisan outrage over what some are calling 'Obama's war on journalism'."
The full transcript of Jan Crawford's report from Wednesday's CBS This Morning can be read at MRC.org.
