# United States search warrant names Fox News reporter James Rosen a possible co-conspirator in a leak case

Published 2026-09-22. Last reviewed 2026-09-22. 2 sources.

Status: historical, as of 2026-09-22.

A 2010 FBI search-warrant affidavit, unsealed in 2013, described Fox News reporter James Rosen as a possible co-conspirator in violating the Espionage Act because he sought classified information from a State Department analyst, and used that theory to obtain his private emails.[1][2][3]

- Country: [United States](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/us) (RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180)
- Where: United States
- Level of government: National
- Tactics: Surveillance and subpoenas, Secrets and espionage laws
- Stage: Punish (ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/surveillance_and_subpoenas#stage-punish)
- Head of government at the time: [Barack Obama](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/barack-obama)
- Issue of the day: A 2009 Fox News report, sourced to a State Department analyst, forecasting North Korea's response to new United Nations sanctions.
- Outcome: Sustained, July 12, 2013. The warrant was not withdrawn from the record; Kim pleaded guilty in 2014 and Rosen was never charged. Holder's July 2013 guidelines later restricted subpoenas naming reporters as suspects.
- Era: The 2010s

## What happened

In 2009, Fox News reporter James Rosen published a story, based on a State Department analyst's account, that North Korea would likely respond to United Nations sanctions with more nuclear tests. Investigating the leak, an FBI agent wrote in a 2010 warrant affidavit, unsealed and reported in 2013, that Rosen, "in his newsgathering, was violating federal statutes that prohibit 'unauthorized disclosure of national defense information' as an 'aider, abettor, and/or co-conspirator,'" under the Espionage Act, a 1917 law against disclosing defense information. A federal magistrate approved the warrant, which the Justice Department used to obtain two days of Rosen's personal emails, his phone records and records of his security-badge movements inside the State Department. The analyst, Stephen Kim, was separately charged and later pleaded guilty. Rosen himself was never charged; press-freedom groups said naming a reporter as a criminal co-conspirator for ordinary newsgathering, asking questions and cultivating a source, had no precedent in a warrant against a working journalist.[1][2][3]

## What reason was given

The FBI affidavit argued Rosen's newsgathering itself, soliciting classified information and cultivating a source, made him a likely "aider, abettor, and/or co-conspirator" in violating the Espionage Act, the legal theory the Justice Department used to justify seizing his records.[2]

## What changed for reporting

The Justice Department seized Rosen's personal emails, phone records and State Department security-badge logs; the Committee to Protect Journalists said such tactics against reporters had "a chilling effect domestically and sends a terrible message to journalists around the world."[3]

## Timeline

- 2013-05-20: United States search warrant names Fox News reporter James Rosen a possible co-conspirator in a leak case

## Who acted

| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Barack Obama](https://thewaronnews.com/actors/barack-obama) | other | President of the United States (2009-2017) |
| [Eric Holder](https://thewaronnews.com/actors/eric-holder) | ordered | Attorney General of the United States |
| [James Rosen](https://thewaronnews.com/actors/james-rosen) | other | Reporter, Fox News |
| [Stephen Jin-Woo Kim](https://thewaronnews.com/actors/stephen-kim) | other | State Department arms expert |

## Outlets and journalists

| Name | Kind | Relation |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Fox News](https://thewaronnews.com/outlets/fox-news) | outlet | affected |

## Sources

1. Justice search warrant relied on probable cause of criminal conduct by Fox News journalist. https://www.rcfp.org/justice-search-warrant-relied-probable-cause-criminal-conduct-fox-ne/ (Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, 2013-05-20).
2. CPJ alarmed by U.S. Justice scrutiny of Fox News reporter. https://cpj.org/2013/05/cpj-alarmed-by-us-justice-scrutiny-of-fox-news-rep/ (Committee to Protect Journalists, 2013-05-20).

## Claims cited

[1] The FBI affidavit described Rosen's newsgathering as making him a possible co-conspirator under the Espionage Act. Quote: "in his newsgathering, was violating federal statutes that prohibit 'unauthorized disclosure of national defense information' as an 'aider, abettor, and/or co-conspirator.'" Source: Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, 2013-05-20. Justice search warrant relied on probable cause of criminal conduct by Fox News journalist. https://www.rcfp.org/justice-search-warrant-relied-probable-cause-criminal-conduct-fox-ne/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/228, checked 2026-09-22.

[2] The government's theory was that Rosen's newsgathering made him an aider, abettor or co-conspirator. Quote: "an aider, abettor and/or co-conspirator" Source: Committee to Protect Journalists, 2013-05-20. CPJ alarmed by U.S. Justice scrutiny of Fox News reporter. https://cpj.org/2013/05/cpj-alarmed-by-us-justice-scrutiny-of-fox-news-rep/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/229, checked 2026-09-22.

[3] CPJ said prosecuting leakers by obtaining journalists' records chilled newsgathering domestically and abroad. Quote: "U.S. government efforts to prosecute leakers by obtaining information from journalists has a chilling effect domestically and sends a terrible message to journalists around the world who are fighting to resist government intrusion" Source: Committee to Protect Journalists, 2013-05-20. CPJ alarmed by U.S. Justice scrutiny of Fox News reporter. https://cpj.org/2013/05/cpj-alarmed-by-us-justice-scrutiny-of-fox-news-rep/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/230, checked 2026-09-22.

Source page: https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2013-us-doj-names-fox-reporter-co-conspirator. The War On News, CC BY 4.0.