'Things have got a little out of whack': Eric Holder admits failings on secretly pulling records on reporters but says he has no intention of standing down

Holder has admitted that Justice Department investigators went too far with attempts to prevent leaks to the media

He said he was ‘not comfortable’ approving a search warrant affidavit for James Rosen’s emails and said the process would change

Despite calls from Republicans for him to resign, he told NBC that he had 'no intention' of doing so





Attorney General Eric Holder has admitted that investigators may have gone too far in their recent attempts to prevent leaks to the media and he said the Justice Department needs to do a better job of balancing national security with press freedom.



‘I'm a little concerned that things have gotten a little out of whack,’ Holder told NBC on Wednesday. ‘I think we can do a better job than we have. We can reform those regulations, reform those guidelines to better reflect that balance.’



Holder has been embroiled in a media storm over a Justice Department subpoena of Associated Press phone records and, in particular, an investigation into leaks to Fox News correspondent James Rosen.

Attorney General Eric Holder has admitted that the Justice Department needs to do a better job of balancing national security with press freedom

He said he was ‘not comfortable’ approving a search warrant affidavit for Rosen’s emails that characterized him as a criminal conspirator and would change the process.



Although he approved some of the steps in the investigation, he said laws and regulations forced his hand and should be changed.

‘I don't like that, because it means me as official who has great respect for the press, is in essence saying a reporter doing his or her job and doing that important job is somehow branded a criminal,’ Holder said NBC . ‘I'm just not comfortable with that, we're going to change that.’



Holder had recused himself from the AP leak investigation and didn't personally sign off on that subpoena.

Holder told NBC's Pete Williams that he has no intention of stepping down from his role as attorney general

Despite calls by some congressional Republicans for his resignation, Holder said he has ‘no intention’ of resigning now.



‘There are some things that I want to do, some things I want to get done that I have discussed with the president,’ Holder said.



‘And once I have finished that, I'll sit down with him and we'll determine when it's time to make a transition to a new attorney general.’



News emerged in May that Holder's agency secretly obtained phone records and emails from Associated Press and FOX News Channel journalists, in investigations targeting national security leaks. Neither news outlet was notified that the government was snooping on its personnel.

Reactions from the establishment news media in Washington have ranged from annoyance to outrage, with the perceived threat to First Amendment press rights bringing a new level of aggression from many reporters about the other scandals facing the Obama administration.

White House press secretary Jay Carney offered no direct defense of the Justice Department of Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday, but quoted the White House chief of staff doing so in a New York Times article Holder's hold on his position in Washington has grown tenuous in recent weeks.

He personally approved a search warrant application for emails and phone records belonging to Fox reporter James Rosen, telling a federal judge that his status as a potential criminal co-conspirator trumped the government's legal requirement to alert Fox News in advance or negotiate with the leading cable news network. The attorney general also, however, told the House Judiciary Committee during a May 15 hearing that, 'With regard to the potential prosecution of the press for the disclosure of material, that is not something I’ve ever been involved in, heard of or would think would be a wise policy.' Rep. Bob Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican who chairs that committee, has confirmed that he is investigating Holder's testimony to determine whether he committed perjury.

Sally Buzbee (L), Washington bureau chief at The Associated Press, saw phone records from 20 of her employees fall into the federal government's hands. The DOJ also seized Fox News reporter James Rosen's private emails and some of his parents' private communications



Rep. Darrell Issa, who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said Sunday on CNN that 'it would be kind to say he misled Congress.'

'It would be less kind and more accurate to say that would rise to be a lie by most people’s standards.'



The Justice Department doesn't see it that way. 'The attorney general’s testimony concerning the potential prosecution of a member of the press,' a spokesperson said, 'was accurate and consistent with the facts' related to that leak case.

Federal prosecutors, the spokesperson continued, never 'sought approval to bring criminal charges against the reporter.'



Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has raised the specter of a perjury charge as one possible outcome of a congressional investigation into Holders testimony

White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough defended Holder in a statement on Saturday to The New York Times.

Holder, he said through a spokesman, “has the intellect, experience and integrity to efficiently run the Department of Justice and not get distracted by the partisans who seem more interested in launching political attacks than cooperating with him to protect the security and constitutional rights of the American people.'

Asked Monday during a scheduled briefing for a comment on Holder's ability to remain in his job, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney referred reporters to McDonough's statement, which he said 'spoke for all of us' in the White House.