From the New York Times:
The president last week denounced in strong language the leaking of information about the agency’s program, saying: “My personal opinion is it was a shameful act for someone to disclose this very important program in a time of war. The fact that we’re discussing this program is helping the enemy.”
Privacy advocates on Friday said the leak investigation should be set aside, at least for now, in favor of an investigation of the warrantless eavesdropping itself.
“President Bush broke the law and lied to the American people when he unilaterally authorized secret wiretaps of U.S. citizens,” said Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union. “But rather than focus on this constitutional crisis, Attorney General Gonzales is cracking down on critics of his friend and boss. Our nation is strengthened, not weakened, by those whistle-blowers who are courageous enough to speak out on violations of the law.”
Marc Rotenberg, the executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, said his group believed “the priority at this point for the Department of Justice should be the appointment of an independent prosecutor to determine whether federal wiretap laws were violated” by the security agency program, not the leak inquiry.
The administration has been sensitive about leaks of closely held information, classified or not, and the Justice Department is also investigating the recent disclosure by The Washington Post that the Central Intelligence Agency operated secret prisons for terrorist suspects in Eastern Europe.
It’s the fact that you’re running secret torture prisons, and spying on Americans that’s the problem. If you were so concerned with leaks, why is Karl Rove still employed after the Plame leak?
