CNN Ignores Eric Holder Approving Seizure of Fox Reporter's E-Mails

May 24th, 2013 3:21 PM

[UPDATED BELOW] News broke on Thursday that Attorney General Eric Holder approved the Justice Department's seizure of a Fox News reporter's private e-mails. CNN still has yet to report this development, although the network found time to cover Brad Pitt's "face blindness" on Friday.

Host Jake Tapper ripped into the Obama administration on Wednesday for its investigation of Rosen, but on Thursday NBCNews.com reported that Holder personally approved the search warrant, labeling Rosen a "possible co-conspirator" against the Espionage Act. CNN still hasn't reported this, as of Friday afternoon.

Enlarging the controversy even more is that Holder, and not someone outside the department, will be the one reviewing the department's policies toward investigating journalists. CNN's Jessica Yellin reported the President's announcement on Thursday evening:

"Wolf, the President also addressed the uproar over leaks investigations at the Department of Justice which have caught up journalists in some of their subpoenas. He says his Attorney General is doing a 45-day review of their policies that involve journalists and investigations."

So the Justice Department will review the Justice Department. Yet CNN did not follow up with the news of Holder's approval of the Rosen investigation. Both CBS and Fox News covered the story, however. 

[UPDATE (5/24/13 5:08 p.m. EDT)]: During the second half of CNN's 4 p.m. ET hour of The Lead, host Jake Tapper reported that Attorney General Holder oversaw the application for a search warrant to investigate Rosen's e-mails and phone records. "In just the past hour, a Justice Department official told CNN's Joe Johns that Attorney General Holder was involved in the decision to apply for a search warrant for Rosen's e-mails and phone records," Tapper said.