Attorney tells reporter to leave
A U.S. Department of Justice attorney attempted to kick out a reporter from a public hearing held in City Hall on Tuesday. Rachel Hranitzky abruptly entered the council chambers at 11 a.m. accompanying New Iberia Fire Chief Ronald Bourque and another man and asked a question.
“Is there anyone here with the media,” she said. When a reporter from The Daily Iberian asserted he was, she said, “OK, well you can stay, but you can’t quote me or record the meeting. You can quote those who speak, but you can’t quote me.”When the reporter - and town officials - asked why she couldn't be recorded, she got angry, reiterated her claims, and then told the reporter that "you don’t want to get on the Department of Justice’s bad side". Really? That sounds a lot like a threat. That sounds just like "this is a nice little newspaper youse gots heah. It'd be a shame if sumtin were to happen to it"...
After the meeting the DOJ attorney confided to the reporter that she had gotten in trouble for being quoted in other meetings. Assuming this is true, it appears to be systematic rather than simply an imperious attorney - and while we can't rule out that this was a rogue attorney exerting her power, it's certainly not out of character for other events we've seen from this administration with regards to secrecy...
Imagine if Obama really does get his internet "off" button...
That is all.
5 comments:
Someone should have told that DOJ person that she works for us; we don't work for her; and so F.O, Employee.
I agree wholeheartedly with Les above. I am a public official, and I've been misquoted in the press - one time even had a reporter make something up out of thin air. My solution? Don't talk to those folks - I know who they are, and it p***es them off to no end when I willingly talk to their competition. Otherwise, it's part of my job and part of the reason for the existence of the fourth estate - assuming they pull their weight with that responsibility and don't end up the de facto cheerleader for an unqualified Community Organizer cum Junior Senator...but I digress - and no government official at any level should ever avoid the press. Manage your end of dealing with the press, yes; avoid them or try to control them? No. Never.
I've got some good trustworthy contacts with some local & regional media, and they earned my trust as much as I earned theirs by being candid & professional. It's all good when it's done right. There's even a right way to deal with the guys who will set up some situation just so they can record you on YouTube...and the best medicine is to play along, not be Officer Jackboot. The rule book was written & ratified in 1789, amended a few times since.
Miss F***up did a great job...of showing how not to do it. I don't care what her excuse is - and if that's what her excuse is, she shouldn't be in that job much less talking to the press beyond describing what the tornado sounded like when it ripped the Narraganset AND the Newport Light out of her hands when it went through her motor home.
After the meeting the DOJ attorney confided to the reporter that she had gotten in trouble for being quoted in other meetings.
Poor baby. Freedom of speech sure is inconvenient sometimes, isn't it?
It would be great for government officials if they didn't have to worry about being misquoted. No doubt they'd also prefer not to worry about property rights when they get in the way, or have to deal with witnesses refusing to testify about themselves. And then there's those pesky people who insist on the right to defend themselves, in spite of all the policemen who only "defend" them after the fact.
I sense a pattern here. You think it's uncomfortable being in the government of a people with so many unalienable rights? Yes, it is; that's the point. Enjoy!
Why is no one pointing out that she complained of being 'quoted'...not 'MISquoted'...'quoted'.
If you're being quoted (no MISquoted) and you are catching flak from your higher ups, perhaps you should start to look at just what exactly it is you are saying.
Could be she's letting slip the truth and it's making her bosses jobs harder.
Why is no one pointing out that she complained of being 'quoted'...not 'MISquoted'...'quoted'.
Good point, Mr. Pak!
Reminds me a bit of the time President Obama "threatened" Eric Cantor by saying "Eric, don't call my bluff". (To which Cantor no doubt quietly muttered, "Yep, I thought you were bluffing, Mr. President; thanks for confirming.")
Administration of Amateurs...
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