http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-02-12T003135Z_01_N11169623_RTRUKOC_0_US-SECURITY-EAVESDROPPING.xml&archived=False
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Federal agents have interviewed officials at
several law enforcement and national security agencies in a criminal
investigation into The New York Times' disclosure of a U.S. domestic
eavesdropping program, the newspaper reported.
In a story posted to its Web site to appear in its Sunday editions,
The Times said the investigation was focused on circumstances
surrounding its disclosure late last year of the highly classified program.
Officials and others interviewed by the Times said the investigation
seemed to lay the groundwork for a grand jury inquiry and possible
criminal charges, the Times said.
Many described the investigation as aggressive and fast moving, with
the initial focus on identifying government officials who have had
contacts with Times reporters, particularly those in the newspaper's
Washington bureau.
It said an FBI team had questioned employees at the FBI, the National
Security Agency, the Justice Department, the CIA and the office of
the Director of National Intelligence, and that prosecutors had taken
steps to activate a grand jury.
President George W. Bush has condemned the leak as a "shameful act"
and CIA Director Porter Goss told a Senate Intelligence Committee
hearing on February 2:
"It is my aim, and it is my hope that we will witness a grand jury
investigation with reporters present being asked to reveal who is
leaking this information."
The Times characterized the case as one that pits the government, for
which "the investigation represents an effort to punish those
responsible for a serious security breach" and news outlets, for
which the inquiry threatens confidentiality of sources "and the
ability to report on controversial national security issues free of
government interference."
The newspaper's executive editor, Bill Keller, said no one at the
paper had been contacted in connection with the investigation, and
defended the Times' reporting on the story.
"What our reporting has done is set off an intense national debate
about the proper balance between security and liberty," Keller said
in the story.
Civil liberties groups, Democratic lawmakers and even some
Republicans have called for an inquiry into the eavesdropping
program, saying it appears to have circumvented the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act, which requires court approval for
eavesdropping on U.S. citizens.
Former Vice President Al Gore has called for a special prosecutor to
investigate the government's use of the program, and Michigan
Democratic Rep. John Conyers Jr. has said the eavesdropping effort
might amount to an impeachable offense.
Among statutes being reviewed by Justice Department investigators are
espionage laws that prohibit the disclosure, dissemination or
publication of national security information, the Times said.
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Received on Sat Mar 02 2024 - 00:57:22 CST