The Washington Post reports that the Obama Justice Department targeted FOX News reporter James Rosen for investigation after Rosen attempted to obtain leaks from the Obama administration. Rosen’s case is different from that of the Associated Press in a notable and quite remarkable way: Rosen was treated as a suspect in the investigation:

In the documents, FBI agent Reginald Reyes described in detail how Kim and Rosen moved in and out of the State Department headquarters at 2201 C St. NW a few hours before the story was published on June 11, 2009. …

Reyes wrote that there was evidence Rosen had broken the law, “at the very least, either as an aider, abettor and/or co-conspirator.” That fact distinguishes his case from the probe of the AP, in which the news organization is not the likely target.

From the available facts, James Rosen does not appear to have aided and abetted any violations of the laws against disclosing classified information, any more than the buyer of illegal narcotics aids and abets the sale of those narcotics by purchasing them. If there are laws against receiving classified information — something I don’t know about, as I am no expert in federal criminal law — Rosen may well have violated those laws . . . along with dozens to hundreds of other reporters and editors at media outlets across the nation. Let the overbearing prosecutions begin!