US probes eavesdropping leak
 

Fri Dec 30, 2005 11:38 AM ET
By Deborah Charles

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department is investigating who disclosed a secret domestic eavesdropping operation approved by President George W. Bush after the September 11 attacks, officials said on Friday.

"We are opening an investigation into the unauthorized disclosure of classified materials related to the NSA," an official said on condition of anonymity.

Earlier this month, Bush acknowledged the program and called its disclosure to The New York Times "a shameful act." He said he presumed the Justice Department would investigate who leaked the National Security Agency eavesdropping operation to the newspaper.

Justice Department officials would give no details of who requested the probe or how it would be conducted.

It is the second recent high-level probe into the leak of classified information to the media.

After a two-year investigation into the disclosure of a covert CIA operative's identity, a special prosecutor in October indicted Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby on perjury and obstructing justice charges.
That investigation is still continuing.

Disclosure of the covert domestic spying program two weeks ago triggered concerns among both Democrats and Republicans, with many lawmakers questioning whether it violates the U.S. Constitution.

Several lawmakers have backed a planned hearing on the issue by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, a Republican from Pennsylvania.
Bush and senior administration officials have argued that the policy of authorizing -- without court orders -- eavesdropping on international phone calls and e-mails by Americans suspected of links to terrorism was legal and necessary to help defend the country after September 11.

A 1978 law, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, makes it illegal to spy on U.S. citizens in the United States without the approval of a special, secret court. Bush secretly gave the NSA authority to intercept communications without such approval.

The White House has sought to play down the impact on civil liberties, saying the program was narrow in scope and that key congressional leaders were briefed about it.

In its initial report on the spying program, The New York Times said nearly a dozen current and former officials had agreed to discuss the program on condition of anonymity, because of their concerns about the operation's legality and oversight.

The newspaper said it was asked by the White House not to publish an article about the program because it could jeopardize investigations and alert potential terrorists that they were under scrutiny.

The Times said it delayed publication for a year and omitted some information that administration officials argued could be useful to terrorists.

Reuters