Greenwald: The Media Are Persecuting Me

Glenn Greenwald, who was the first to break the Edward Snowden/NSA Scandal, has written today in the Guardian about his persecution by the media for covering the story.  Greenwald says he has been “fully expecting those kinds of attacks since I began my work on these NSA leaks.”

He writes about a New York Daily News reporter who informed him via email that “he had been ‘reviewing some old lawsuits’ in which I was involved – ‘old’ as in: more than a decade ago – and that ‘the paper wants to do a story on this for tomorrow’. He asked that I call him right away to discuss this, apologizing for the very small window he gave me to comment.”

Greenwald also revealed that a New York Times reporter emailed him about IRS back payments (!!?!?!, no issues with the IRS credibility these days.) 

The New York Daily News reporter followed up with him about “about a student loan judgment which was in default over a decade ago and is now covered by a payment plan agreement.”

Greenwald says in his own defense: 

I’m 46 years old and, like most people, have lived a complicated and varied adult life. I didn’t manage my life from the age of 18 onward with the intention of being a Family Values US senator. My personal life, like pretty much everyone’s, is complex and sometimes messy.

Despite efforts to investigate Greenwald, he says he will not be detained from reporting on the NSA’s secret operation. 

While I doubt Mr.  Greenwald and I have little in common ideologically, it is curious that the media will do anything to distract about the very serious issues Greenwald has brought to light. I would include among those issues the extent to which Greenwald may or may not be working with or assisting Snowden. While those of us on the right object to the “politics of personal destruction” of those on our own side, we should to be consistent and oppose making Greenwald the story at the expense of his revelations regarding possible civil liberty abuses by our government. 

UPDATE: In the above paragraph it should read: I would *NOT* include among those issues the extent to which Greenwald may or may not be working with or assisting Snowden. I do think this is a legitimate inquiry.