HT to Captain Ed| Also done yesterday. Beat ya by a day, Frank ;-) |
admitted it, huh?
The 23-member grand jury is "conducting an investigation of possible violations of federal criminal laws involving unauthorized disclosure of classified information" under the Espionage Act and other statutes, according to a document accompanying the subpoena.
fry em
The demand for testimony from former NSA officer Russell Tice provides a sign of the Justice Department's aggressiveness in pursuing the leak investigation, which follows a series of controversial news reports on classified programs. It also marks the latest potential use of the espionage statute to combat such leaks.
In December, Justice opened a criminal investigation after the New York Times disclosed the existence of the eavesdropping program, which allows the NSA to monitor telephone calls to and from the United States without a court order if one party is linked to suspected of links to terrorist groups. The documents released yesterday do not make it clear whether the grand jury is focused on that report or on some other disclosure.
Tice has publicly identified himself as a possible source for the report, saying that he talked to Times reporters before it was published. He also has said he believes he was fired by the NSA last year because he complained of possible Chinese espionage at the agency, and he has since sought to testify before Congress about "probable unlawful and unconstitutional acts" by the NSA director and other senior administration officials.
Tice said in an interview that he viewed the subpoena as an attempt at intimidation by the government. "This is the king saying, 'How dare anyone challenge my authority and say that I'm a crook or a criminal?' " he said.
king, huh? Sounds like a Clinton holdover
The subpoena, dated July 25, requires Tice to appear Aug. 2. It was posted yesterday on the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition's Web site. Tice is a member of the group.
New York Times spokeswoman Catherine Mathis said the newspaper has "not been contacted by the government" in the case. A Justice spokesman declined to comment.
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales has said that while prosecutors are focused on the "leakers," he cannot rule out the need to demand testimony from reporters as well. A separate grand jury investigation into the leak of CIA officer Valerie Plame's identity resulted in the jailing last year of one reporter and testimony from her and numerous others.
Journalism and secrecy experts said the Alexandria investigation is another worrisome development for reporters attempting to inform the public about intelligence programs and policies.
"They are playing hardball," said Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. ". . . They're rounding up the most likely suspects, getting them to say 'Yes I was a source' or 'No I was not a source,' and then they'll go to the reporters
jail the reporters too