The elaborate, "full spectrum dominance" of government surveillance of US citizens, especially over journalists, is now paying big dividends for the shadow government run by banking and corporate elites. In spite of the use of "state secrets"and "national security" to suppress information, it seems that there have been far too many honest people known as "whistle-blowers" who have been risking their careers and lives to report on illegal activities of the One Percent's government. Hence, going after journalists is a winner--for them!
The subpoenas and the investigation have already had a “chilling” effect on the constitutionally guaranteed rights to free speech and the freedom of the press. Pruitt said that the AP has already encountered a situation where “officials that would normally talk to us, and people we talk to in the normal course of newsgathering, are already saying they’re a little reluctant to talk to us; they fear that they will be monitored by the government.”