King says that the journalist has clearly crossed a line. | AP Photos King wants Greenwald punished

Rep. Peter King, who has been calling for leak journalists to be punished in light of the NSA scandal, is now specifically calling for legal action against The Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald.

“Not only did he disclose this information. He has said that he has the names of CIA agents and assets around the world and threatening to disclose that. The last time that was done in this country, we saw a CIA station chief murdered in Greece,” the New York Republican told Fox News’s Megyn Kelly on Wednesday. “Legal action should be taken against him. This is a very unusual case with life and death implications for Americans.”


King said that “no right is absolute” and that Greenwald had clearly crossed a line.

“No right is absolute and even the press has certain restrictions. I think it should be very targeted, very selective and certainly a very rare exception, but in this case when you have someone who has disclosed secrets like this and threatens to release more … that to me is a direct attack against Americans,” he said. “Obviously, freedom of the press has to be cherished in this country, but in this case where some people are glorifying Snowden, making him a hero and now acting as if Greenwald was acting as a legitimate journalist … It clearly violates U.S. code, which talks about releasing classified information.”

Later Wednesday, The Guardian released a statement expressing its disappointment in the congressman’s reaction.

“This is especially troubling in light of comments from Eric Holder, US Attorney General who stated: ‘As long as I am attorney general, we will not prosecute any reporter for doing his or her job.’ Holder went on to say he was ‘troubled by the possibility that leak investigations may chill the investigative journalism that holds government accountable,” the news site wrote.