Outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder wishes he could have a do-over when it comes to labeling Fox News correspondent James Rosen a “co-conspirator” in a leak investigation.
The remarks came today at the Washington Ideas Forum when moderator, and MSNBC contributor Jonathan Capehart asked Holder, “What’s the one decision you made that you wish you could do over again?”
“I think about the subpoena to the Fox reporter, Rosen,” Holder said. “I think that I could’ve been a little more careful looking at the language that was contained in the filing that we made with the court. He was labeled as a co-conspirator. You had to do that as a result of the statute, but there are ways in which, I think, that could have been differently, done better.”
In 2010, Holder personally approved of a search warrant into Rosen’s emails as part of the investigation.
In a statement to TVNewser, Rosen responds: “Throughout this ordeal for my family and me, I have tried to keep my head down and continue covering – and breaking – the news. I consider myself blessed to have an employer in Fox News, and a boss in Roger Ailes, who have stood by me and enabled me to remain focused on what matters most to me in professional terms: first-rate journalism. At some later point, I may have more to say about this entire controversy, which – as commentators from across the ideological spectrum have noted – does indeed raise serious concerns about the state of press freedoms under the present administration. Suffice to say for now that the attorney general’s latest comments about my case, like his previous remarks, scarcely address the relevant facts of his conduct.”