CBS Reporter Sharyl Attkisson: My Computer Was Hacked
Sharyl Attkisson, an Emmy-winning CBS News reporter, believes that her home and work computers have been compromised perhaps as a result of her work as an investigative journalist.
“There’s definitely been an intrusion into my computer system… I really can’t say more than that right now,” Attkisson explained during a Philadelphia radio interview today.
Attkisson is one of the few mainstream media reporters that covered the Fast and Furious scandal, a botched Obama administration operation that allowed firearms to fall into the hands of drug cartels. These same weapons have been linked to the murder of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry and many others. She’s also been digging into the Benghazi scandal.
In the radio interview with Chris Stigall, Attkisson explained that something fishy may have been going on since February 2011 (or even before) when she was covering Fast and Furious and also reported on stories about the taxpayer money spent on failed green energy initiatives “that the [Obama] administration was very sensitive about.”
In discussing the possible spying on her digital files, she added that “I’m not ready to fully speak publicly about some things that may have affected me because I’m trying to be methodical and careful about what I say. But there’s been an issue in my house and there’s been an issue with my computers that’s gone on for quite a long time that we’re looking into.”
News broke yesterday that the Justice Department was spying on Fox News reporter James Rosen’s emails and telephone records. Last week it was revealed that the DOJ was secretly snooping on phone records of Associated Press reporters. Both these incidents raise potential First Amendment violations by the federal government.
When asked about the James Rosen situation in the interview, Attkisson noted that “… there could be some relationship between these types of things and what’s happened to me.”
In a follow-up interview, Attkisson similarly told Politico today that “I can confirm that an intrusion of my computers has been under some investigation on my end for some months but I’m not prepared to make an allegation against a specific entity today as I’ve been patient and methodical about this matter. I need to check with my attorney and CBS to get their recommendations on info we make public.”
[Image credit: Honeyplant]
