Sharyl Attkisson: Press freedom under Obama Administration will be seen as a 'historic time of restrictions'

In March, veteran investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson made headlines when she announced her resignation from CBS News. Attikisson was known for her relentless coverage of the terror attacks in Benghazi and the Fast and Furious scandal even when her colleagues seemed to shy away from the stories.

In various interviews since her resignation, Attkisson has implied that she was indirectly discouraged her from doing investigative reporting critical of the Obama administration. On radio this morning, Attkisson joined Glenn to discuss her forthcoming book Stonewalled: My Fight for Truth Against the Forces of Obstruction, Intimidation, and Harassment in Obama's Washington and the state of journalism in the United States.

“I have to tell you I have not been this excited to talk to somebody on the air in I don't know how long,” Glenn said. “I think Sharyl Attkisson will go down in the history books as a leader in this time period, somebody who stood against all odds stood. And if it wasn't for technology, she would be discredited and she would be out and nobody would ever know the truth. But because of technology, she had the courage to leave CBS News after fighting on the inside for a long time and then start her own website and really go out and be on her own so she doesn't have to answer to anybody.”

To begin, Glenn asked Attkisson whether or not she believes journalism even exists anymore. She explained that she recently returned from a “top line investigative conference” at Berkeley with some of the most courageous reporters in the business, and the consensus was that press freedom has definitely changed in the United States.

“It's amazing because there's some amazing reporters in print and television who attended,” Attkisson explained. “These are reporters that work for or used to work for the New York Times, the LA Times, a lot of these publications, and they all see something as they say fundamentally changed in society with the restrictions on the press freedoms as well as civil liberties being given up pretty much voluntarily.”

Glenn praised Attkisson for her decision to leave CBS News and pursue her own reporting without the oversight of a gatekeeper. To that point, Attkisson stressed that she found herself in a unique position that her fellow journalists might not have the luxury of experiencing.

“I don't have to work. I've put myself in a position where the kids' college is paid for, and I do sympathize with other journalists that can't stand up for some of things that they want t because they have bills to pay and families to raise. I get that,” she said. “I'm in a good position now, so I don't see a downside in anything I do. I don't see myself in the future beholden to a single master and which stories don't get to see the light of day which I think is a moral issue today.”

On Wednesday’s season finale, For the Record investigates the events that led to the September 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya that killed ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. Additionally, Judicial Watch just released email communications that show then-White House deputy strategic communications adviser Ben Rhodes worked to craft the narrative that a You Tube video sparked a demonstration that then turned violent in order to protect the President in the lead up to the 2012 election. Attkisson is one of the reporters who really led the charge on this investigation and refused to give up on story, and Glenn asked her how she feels about the new information coming out.

“For a couple weeks, I didn't cover this story. I wasn't originally assigned, and I was brought in. CBS asked me to look into it. I think it was about three weeks in when it looked like there was some more information to uncover,” she said. “And just the stonewalling of basic information that should be publicly available such as the commander-in-chief's action on a night when basically people were at war with Americans and that we were under threat in many places in the region. We don't even know what the commander-in-chief did that night. We're not allowed to do know and I think that's pretty shocking.”

As Attkisson explained, she views the Administration’s stonewalling as a relatively effective strategy because it allowed President Obama to make it through election season unscathed. Furthermore, the more time that passes after an event, the more likely it is that the news media and the American people lose interest.

“I think in part what I see as a strategy has been somewhat effective. They just needed to get through the election without as much of this coming out as possible,” Attkisson said. “And as it has dribbled out in the year and a half since, we're getting sort of, you know -- I've seen this before. And, you know, different administrations and different politicians. You get a little bit numb. Little revelations come out at a time. If all that we know today had come out the week after Benghazi, it would have really been disastrous, I think.”

Ultimately, Attkisson believes the limitations to the press under this Administration are truly historic, and that is an unfortunate trend.

“I can tell you from the standpoint of press freedoms and reporting, I think this will be seen as a historic time of restrictions,” she concluded, “and a time in which we not just lost but voluntarily relinquished a lot of our duty and authority as watchdogs of the government.”

To learn more about the events that led to the September 11, 2012 attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, don’t miss For The Record: Zero Footprint Wednesday at 8pm ET only on TheBlaze. Not a subscriber? Start your 14-day free trial HERE.

PHOTOS: Glenn’s rare tour reveals White House history

Image courtesy of the White House

In honor of Trump's 100th day in office, Glenn was invited to the White House for an exclusive interview with the President.

Naturally, Glenn's visit wasn't solely confined to the interview, and before long, Glenn and Trump were strolling through the majestic halls of the White House, trading interesting historical anecdotes while touring the iconic home. Glenn was blown away by the renovations that Trump and his team have made to the presidential residence and enthralled by the history that practically oozed out of the gleaming walls.

Want to join Glenn on this magical tour? Fortunately, Trump's gracious White House staff was kind enough to provide Glenn with photos of his journey through the historic residence so that he might share the experience with you.

So join Glenn for a stroll through 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue with the photo gallery below:

The Oval Office

Image courtesy of the White House

The Roosevelt Room

Image courtesy of the White House

The White House

Image courtesy of the White House

Media cover-up: Why Clinton deported six times more than Trump

Genaro Molina / Contributor | Getty Images

MSNBC and CNN want you to think the president is a new Hitler launching another Holocaust. But the actual deportation numbers are nowhere near what they claim.

Former MSNBC host Chris Matthews, in an interview with CNN’s Jim Acosta, compared Trump’s immigration policies to Adolf Hitler’s Holocaust. He claimed that Hitler didn’t bother with German law — he just hauled people off to death camps in Poland and Hungary. Apparently, that’s what Trump is doing now by deporting MS-13 gang members to El Salvador.

Symone Sanders took it a step further. The MSNBC host suggested that deporting gang-affiliated noncitizens is simply the first step toward deporting black Americans. I’ll wait while you try to do that math.

The debate is about control — weaponizing the courts, twisting language, and using moral panic to silence dissent.

Media mouthpieces like Sanders and Matthews are just the latest examples of the left’s Pavlovian tribalism when it comes to Trump and immigration. Just say the word “Trump,” and people froth at the mouth before they even hear the sentence. While the media cries “Hitler,” the numbers say otherwise. And numbers don’t lie — the narrative does.

Numbers don’t lie

The real “deporter in chief” isn’t Trump. It was President Bill Clinton, who sent back 12.3 million people during his presidency — 11.4 million returns and nearly 900,000 formal removals. President George W. Bush, likewise, presided over 10.3 million deportations — 8.3 million returns and two million removals. Even President Barack Obama, the progressive darling, oversaw 5.5 million deportations, including more than three million formal removals.

So how does Donald Trump stack up? Between 2017 and 2021, Trump deported somewhere between 1.5 million and two million people — dramatically fewer than Obama, Bush, or Clinton. In his current term so far, Trump has deported between 100,000 and 138,000 people. Yes, that’s assertive for a first term — but it's still fewer than Biden was deporting toward the end of his presidency.

The numbers simply don’t support the hysteria.

Who's the “dictator” here? Trump is deporting fewer people, with more legal oversight, and still being compared to history’s most reviled tyrant. Apparently, sending MS-13 gang members — violent criminals — back to their country of origin is now equivalent to genocide.

It’s not about immigration

This debate stopped being about immigration a long time ago. It’s now about control — about weaponizing the courts, twisting language, and using moral panic to silence dissent. It’s about turning Donald Trump into the villain of every story, facts be damned.

If the numbers mattered, we’d be having a very different national conversation. We’d be asking why Bill Clinton deported six times as many people as Trump and never got labeled a fascist. We’d be questioning why Barack Obama’s record-setting removals didn’t spark cries of ethnic cleansing. And we’d be wondering why Trump, whose enforcement was relatively modest by comparison, triggered lawsuits, media hysteria, and endless Nazi analogies.

But facts don’t drive this narrative. The villain does. And in this script, Trump plays the villain — even when he does far less than the so-called heroes who came before him.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Can Trump stop the blackouts that threaten America's future?

Allan Tannenbaum / Contributor | Getty Images

If America wants to remain a global leader in the coming decades, we need more energy fast.

It's no secret that Glenn is an advocate for the safe and ethical use of AI, not because he wants it, but because he knows it’s coming whether we like it or not. Our only option is to shape AI on our terms, not those of our adversaries. America has to win the AI Race if we want to maintain our stability and security, and to do that, we need more energy.

AI demands dozens—if not hundreds—of new server farms, each requiring vast amounts of electricity. The problem is, America lacks the power plants to generate the required electricity, nor do we have a power grid capable of handling the added load. We must overcome these hurdles quickly to outpace China and other foreign competitors.

Outdated Power Grid

Spencer Platt / Staff | Getty Images

Our power grid is ancient, slowly buckling under the stress of our modern machines. AAI’s energy demands could collapse it without a major upgrade. The last significant overhaul occurred under FDR nearly a century ago, when he connected rural America to electricity. Since then, we’ve patched the system piecemeal, but it’s still the same grid from the 1930s. Over 70 percent of the powerlines are 30 years old or older, and circuit breakers and other vital components are in similar condition. Most people wouldn't trust a dishwasher that was 30 years old, and yet much of our grid relies on technology from the era of VHS tapes.

Upgrading the grid would prevent cascading failures, rolling blackouts, and even EMP attacks. It would also enable new AI server farms while ensuring reliable power for all.

A Need for Energy

JONATHAN NACKSTRAND / Stringer | Getty Images

Earlier this month, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt appeared before Congress as part of an AI panel and claimed that by 2030, the U.S. will need to add 96 gigawatts to our national power production to meet AI-driven demand. While some experts question this figure, the message is clear: We must rapidly expand power production. But where will this energy come from?

As much as eco nuts would love to power the world with sunshine and rainbows, we need a much more reliable and significantly more efficient power source if we want to meet our electricity goals. Nuclear power—efficient, powerful, and clean—is the answer. It’s time to shed outdated fears of atomic energy and embrace the superior electricity source. Building and maintaining new nuclear plants, along with upgraded infrastructure, would create thousands of high-paying American jobs. Nuclear energy will fuel AI, boost the economy, and modernize America’s decaying infrastructure.

A Bold Step into the Future

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / Contributor | Getty Images

This is President Trump’s chance to leave a historic mark on America, restoring our role as global leaders and innovators. Just as FDR’s power grid and plants made America the dominant force of the 20th century, Trump could upgrade our infrastructure to secure dominance in the 21st century. Visionary leadership must cut red tape and spark excitement in the industry. This is how Trump can make America great again.

POLL: Is K2-18b proof of alien LIFE in the cosmos?

Print Collector / Contributor | Getty Images

Are we alone in the universe?

It's no secret that Glenn keeps one eye on the cosmos, searching for any signs of ET. Late last week, a team of astronomers at the University of Cambridge made an exciting discovery that could change how we view the universe. The astronomers were monitoring a distant planet, K2-18b, when the James Webb Space Telescope detected dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl disulfide, two atmospheric gases believed only to be generated by living organisms. The planet, which is just over two and a half times larger than Earth, orbits within the "habitable zone" of its star, meaning the presence of liquid water on its surface is possible, further supporting the possibility that life exists on this distant world.

Unfortunately, humans won't be able to visit K2-18b to see for ourselves anytime soon, as the planet is about 124 light-years from Earth. This means that even if we had rockets that could travel at the speed of light, it would still take 124 years to reach the potentially verdant planet. Even if humans made the long trek to K2-18b, they would be faced with an even more intense challenge upon arrival: Gravity. Assuming K2-18b has a similar density to Earth, its increased size would also mean it would have increased gravity, two and a half times as much gravity, to be exact. This would make it very difficult, if not impossible, for humans to live or explore the surface without serious technological support. But who knows, give Elon Musk and SpaceX a few years, and we might be ready to seek out new life (and maybe even new civilizations).

But Glenn wants to know what you think. Could K2-18b harbor life on its distant surface? Could alien astronomers be peering back at us from across the cosmos? Would you be willing to boldly go where no man has gone before? Let us know in the poll below:

Could there be life on K2-18b?

Could there be an alien civilization thriving on K2-18b?

Will humans develop the technology to one day explore distant worlds?

Would you sign up for a trip to an alien world?

Is K2-18b just another cold rock in space?