On Twitter this week, James Risen laid out his plan for the future:

I plan to spend the rest of my life fighting to undo damage done to press freedom in the United States by Barack Obama and Eric Holder. — James Risen (@JamesRisen) 18 Feb 15

He also wrote: “My son is a reporter. I don’t want him to have to live in a country where there is less press freedom than when I started as a journalist.” (Hadas Gold of Politico, among others, wrote about the Risen tweets, which The Blaze called an “epic rant.”)

Mr. Risen, an investigative reporter for The Times, was writing in response to Mr. Holder’s statements in a National Press Club speech Tuesday defending the Obama administration’s record on press rights. Mr. Risen, who narrowly escaped jail time as he insisted on protecting a confidential source, begged to differ – in no uncertain terms.

Referring to the Obama administration as “the greatest enemy of press freedom in a generation,” Mr. Risen called the attorney general “the nation’s top censorship officer.”

Although the wording of the Risen tweets was outside the tacitly accepted norm for Times reporters on social media, The Times declined to criticize them and issued a statement in his support.

I followed up in a conversation with the standards editor, Philip Corbett, and some email correspondence with Mr. Risen.

“In general, our reporters understand that they don’t and shouldn’t editorialize on issues we cover,” Mr. Corbett said. But because The Times is far from neutral on the question of press rights, “I would put this in a different category.” He noted that Times top editors, particularly Jill Abramson, the former executive editor, have spoken out strongly with similar criticism of the Obama administration.

In addition, he said, “Jim has a very special and personal vantage point,” because he lived for years under the threat of going to jail to protect his confidential source. (That personal ordeal came to an end recently, but the legal ramifications of the case are far from positive for journalists and their sources.)

I’d take it a step further. Because of his personal experiences, someone like James Risen has an obligation to speak out strongly on press rights. And I think more journalists ought to join him in that passion.

In an email, Mr. Risen said he took to Twitter “to respond to Holder’s speech and comments, as well as other statements recently both by him and more generally by the D.O.J., in which they have said that they believe the way they handled my case was a model for the future for the Department of Justice. Holder also said he thinks they have handled cases involving whistle-blowers and leaks appropriately.”

He added, “I felt that this was all a remarkable effort at revisionist history,” and shouldn’t go unchallenged.

Mr. Holder’s spokesman, Brian Fallon, responded on Twitter that journalists, if they want to change the legal situation between government and press, should push for a federal shield law. He also called Mr. Risen’s contention about the Obama administration’s record on press rights “ridiculous on its face” since reporters have been jailed under other administrations.

I asked Mr. Risen in what way he intended to wage his avowed battle. Without hesitation, he answered: “By continuing to do aggressive investigative reporting. That’s the best way to fight back.”

Great answer. I’ll add this: Maybe the tenor of Mr. Risen’s tweets wasn’t very Timesian. But the insistence on truth-telling and challenging the powerful is exactly what The Times ought to stand for. Always.