Former President Barack Obama shared a video on his Twitter on Wednesday praising journalists in a notable about-face after spending years harassing journalists during his presidency.
Obama has had a sudden change of heart about journalists as he wrote, "Journalists have always been on the front lines of struggles for democracy, and some of you have the scars to prove it and that’s why it’s so important to find creative ways to reinvigorate quality journalism. It’s why we need to keep standing up for the rights of journalists around the world, many of whom are facing increasing threats and challenges just trying to do their jobs."
Obama's statement continued by saying, "Our democracy has always faced its share of challenges, but increasingly it feels like we’re at an inflection point: rising inequality, deepening polarization, and widespread disinformation," Obama said. "If we want to preserve our democratic ideals, we need to face these trends head-on, and we need all of you to help us do it."
This statement stands at odds with Obama's record as President. Those years were notable for the massive hostility that journalists and whistleblowers faced from the Obama administration.
Barack Obama would have Americans believe that he is a strong believer in the free press and transparency when the opposite has been the case for years.
Obama's Justice Department waged an all-out war on journalists for years and there have been no apologies made or actions taken to rectify the abuses that the Obama administration committed.
Obama's DOJ was so out of control that in 2013, a coalition of media organizations wrote a letter of protest in response to the DOJ seizing personal phone records belonging to journalists.
The letter protested the seizure of records as an attempt to intimidate and influence journalists.
Gary Pruitt, the president and chief executive of The A.P., called the phone records seizure a “massive and unprecedented intrusion," on the investigative journalism that the Associated Press was conducting.
President Obama was no friend of journalists when he was President and he is hoping that Americans have forgotten his actions from ten years ago. Thankfully, his tyrannical behavior has been documented and is available for all to see.
As far as Obama and his allies are concerned, journalists are only worthy of rights when they are acting as partisan tools for the Democrat Party.
The moment journalists do their job and begin looking into the misdeeds of Democrats, they are no longer worthy of protection from "increasing threats and challenges."
Obama used electronic surveillance, intimidating rhetoric, and record seizures to challenge those journalists who investigated his misdeeds.
For Obama to opine about the need to protect journalists' rights is beyond hypocritical and dishonest. His war on the free press cannot be forgotten even as the same people he targeted years ago rally to protect the Democrat Party.