Steve Benen: …. based on preliminary accounts, the Justice Department didn’t eavesdrop on journalists’ phone calls, but rather, obtained logs showing incoming and outgoing calls, as well as the duration of those phone calls.

And why was the Justice Department doing this? In part because congressional Republicans demanded a full-scale leak investigation and DOJ officials took the request very seriously….

SNIP:

…. As of last night, as the story drew serious questions from the left and right, the GOP was left in the awkward position of arguing that it wanted the Justice Department to do everything possible to root out national security leaks, except what the Justice Department ended up doing to root out national security leaks…..

You know the way everyone chuckled yesterday at Darrell Issa saying on Fox that “an act of terror is different to a terrorist attack”? Well – and I’m not making this up – Glenn Kessler at the Washington Post has given President Obama four Pinocchios for saying he described what happened in Benghazi as an act of terrorism, because Kessler agrees with Issa – calling something an act of terror is completely different to calling it a terrorist attack.

The best line in Kessler’s gobsmacking piece is this:

“During the campaign, the president could just get away with claiming he said “act of terror,” since he did use those words…”.

If you’re repeating something that is true, you’re getting away with it?

Oh boy.

PS As Media Matters reminds us (and see video on top):

On September 13, 2001, former President George W. Bush described the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as an “act of terror”.

But, you know, that was different.