Laurent Leger, an investigative reporter at Charlie Hebdo who survived the recent terrorist attacks, said he was “very happy” President Obama didn’t come to the peace rally held in Paris that attracted 40-plus world leaders.
Why?
His White House’s record on open government, transparency and freedom of the press are “an absolute scandal,” Mr. Leger said, The Huffington Post reported.
Mr. Leger cited a 2013 reported by the Committee to Protect Journalists, which found that the Obama administration’s “war on leaks and other efforts to control information are the most aggressive … since the Nixon administration,” The Huffington Post said.
And his conclusion: If Mr. Obama had shown for the peace march — which was a message of solidarity to terrorists who wanted to clamp down on freedoms of speech and press — it would have been the height of hypocrisy, Mr. Leger suggested.
“It’s very good he didn’t come to the march that day,” he said.
Mr. Leger was actually attending a weekly editorial meeting in the Charlie Hebdo officers when a man dressed in black stormed into the room, shouted “Allahu Akbar” and started shooting. Mr. Leger hid beneath a table and survived, the news outlet reported.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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