The Department of Justice will investigate leaks to reporters that led to the series of articles by the New York Times and others on the top secret NSA program to intercept communications from al Qaeda to their operatives and sympathizers here in the US:
Justice prosecutors will examine whether classified information was unlawfully disclosed to the New York Times, which reported two weeks ago that the National Security Agency had been conducting electronic surveillance on U.S. citizens and residents without court-approved warrants.The probe is the latest in a series of controversial investigations into leaks of classified information during the Bush administration, including the disclosure of a CIA agent’s identity that has resulted in criminal charges against former vice presidential adviser I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby.
A “series” of investigations? Two investigations hardly constitutes a “series” of anything but it was the only way for Post reporter Dan Eggan to get the Plame investigation and Scooter Libby’s indictment mentioned in the same sentence. The proprieties of partisanship must be observed at all times at the Post, dontchya know.
The wheels of justice may also start to grind away for Post reporters who broke the story about no-longer secret CIA prisons overseas:
The Justice Department has also opened a probe into whether classified information was illegally disclosed to The Washington Post, which reported on a network of secret CIA prisons in Eastern Europe and elsewhere.The disclosure of the domestic spying program by the NSA, which is normally confined to overseas operations, has setoff a firestorm of criticism from civil liberties advocates and prompted plans for hearings on Capitol Hill. The secret program has also angered some judges on a special court that is supposed to oversee clandestine surveillance within the United States, including one who submitted his resignation.
Will the career prosecutors and investigators at the Department of Justice dig into this investigation and carry it out with the sustained vigor and intensity it deserves? Or will they simply go through the motions and tiptoe around the press as they normally do, fearing the anger of the editorial boards of the New York Times and Washington Post?
In order for this investigation to succeed, they will need the wholehearted cooperation of the National Security Agency. And given the leaking proclivities shown by Department of Justice bureaucrats during the Plame investigation, they may feel some trepidation in giving too many details of the intercept program (or who may have had access to the information in the first place) to prosecutors to assist them in their investigation.
I am frankly not very hopeful that much will come of this investigation. The DOJ has never been very aggressive in the area of national security leaks to the press, seeing it as a First Amendment issue rather than a national security one. And unless some kind of link can be found in some of the leaks, I doubt whether a Special Prosecutor could be appointed.
I’ve always wondered why rival reporters don’t try and find out who the other fellow’s source is, especially when an investigation is being carried out. The clique of national security reporters in Washington is actually pretty close, sharing information and sources on several stories.. It makes me wonder if some of them don’t actually know who the other guy’s source is for a story, in which case it would be an incredible scoop to report on it.
I guess that just wouldn’t be the polite thing to do. But doesn’t that ring a little hollow when the security of the country is being compromised?
Just wondering…
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