The Obama administration entered the White House on the promise of creating a more open and transparent government for the country's citizens and press. Instead, reporters have had their phone logs and emails secretly subpoenaed and seized, been accused as conspirators for the leak of classified documents and dragged into court to testify against their sources, according to former CBS correspondent Sharyl Attkisson.
Barack Obama and other government entities may have gone so far as to hack into reporters' personal computers to slow down or quash stories critical of the administration. Attkisson discussed such allegations in her new book, "Stonewalled: My Fight for Truth Against the Forces of Obstruction, Intimidation, and Harassment in Obama's Washington," along with the idea that Obama has a targeted list of reporters who frequently attack his administration.
"I've been told there is such a list, yes," Attkisson told The Hollywood Reporter. "I kind of assume I'm on a list. I don't think I'm the only one."
The commentator believes the list includes Fox News reporter James Rosen and the Associated Press, both of which the government has admitted to spying on in the past two years. Attkisson said pundits such as Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck also may be on the list.
The White House has reportedly taken aggressive action on possible leakers. The tactics have scared many in government to shy away from speaking to reporters, and some also are said to fear reaching out to government officials, as they may be linked to these leaked cases.
"There's an internal email that indicated reporters who were working with leakers in government agencies or perceived as enemies of the White House are being targeted ... anybody that they perceive as harmful to their agenda or working with leakers and whistle-blowers, which I did a lot of," Attkisson said.
Attkisson claims her computer was hacked. CBS News hired an outside computer forensics firm to check and they did agree that a "highly sophisticated remote intrusion" had been made on her computer. They could not specifically say who targeted her.
"I have been told by two computer forensics experts that a highly sophisticated entity using abilities outside non-government resources, using software proprietary either to the DIA, CIA, FBI or NSA made repeat remote intrusions into both my computers over a period of time," Attkisson said. "And we have evidence of a government computer connection into my computer system."
The investigative reporter resigned from CBS News in March after a 20-year career with the network. The network stopped needing her work and no longer had an "appetite" for investigative and original reporting, according to Attkisson.
"The last couple of years it was clear for me that there was nothing meaningful left for me to do at CBS, and I just wanted to move on."
