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Republican Calls For NYT to be Prosecuted
Lawmaker wants White House to prosecute the press
BY MICHAEL MCAULIFF
New York Daily News
WASHINGTON - A powerful New York Republican wants the Bush administration to prosecute the press for printing stories about secret government strategies in the war on terror.
Rep. Pete King is fired up after The New York Times and several other newspapers printed stories Friday about a program the Bush administration uses to monitor thousands of foreign financial transactions in hopes of tracking terrorists.
"The New York Times clearly broke the law," King, the House Homeland Security Committee chairman, said Sunday, slamming the paper - and government leakers - for revealing a program that's believed to have helped snare a number of al-Qaida leaders.
"The terrorists did not know that we had access to foreign transactions," King said. "This has definitely compromised our security in a time of war."
King said he was especially peeved by The Times because the paper earlier revealed the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping of terror-linked phone calls from abroad and defended its latest scoop.
Times editor Bill Keller has said he listened to an administration appeal to keep the lid on the program but decided the "extraordinary access" was a "matter of public interest."
"No one elected The New York Times to do anything," King said. "They're breaking the law to satisfy their own arrogant, liberal agenda."
One Republican who has been critical of the White House's clandestine surveillance programs, Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, said The Times deserves a little slack.
"We have seen the newspapers in this country act as effective watchdogs," Specter said on "Fox News Sunday."
"I think it's premature to call for a prosecution of The New York Times."
The White House had no comment on the issue.
Specter, who has been pushing the administration to submit other secret programs for review, said he was close to an agreement with Vice President Dick Cheney to have judges on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court weigh the wiretaps.
He also suggested Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should explain the financial monitoring, which started soon after the Sept. 11 attacks.
But King said it's way past time to haul The Times onto a docket. "It's time for Gonzales to take the gloves off," he said. "Gonzales has an obligation to prosecute."
BY MICHAEL MCAULIFF
New York Daily News
WASHINGTON - A powerful New York Republican wants the Bush administration to prosecute the press for printing stories about secret government strategies in the war on terror.
Rep. Pete King is fired up after The New York Times and several other newspapers printed stories Friday about a program the Bush administration uses to monitor thousands of foreign financial transactions in hopes of tracking terrorists.
"The New York Times clearly broke the law," King, the House Homeland Security Committee chairman, said Sunday, slamming the paper - and government leakers - for revealing a program that's believed to have helped snare a number of al-Qaida leaders.
"The terrorists did not know that we had access to foreign transactions," King said. "This has definitely compromised our security in a time of war."
King said he was especially peeved by The Times because the paper earlier revealed the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping of terror-linked phone calls from abroad and defended its latest scoop.
Times editor Bill Keller has said he listened to an administration appeal to keep the lid on the program but decided the "extraordinary access" was a "matter of public interest."
"No one elected The New York Times to do anything," King said. "They're breaking the law to satisfy their own arrogant, liberal agenda."
One Republican who has been critical of the White House's clandestine surveillance programs, Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, said The Times deserves a little slack.
"We have seen the newspapers in this country act as effective watchdogs," Specter said on "Fox News Sunday."
"I think it's premature to call for a prosecution of The New York Times."
The White House had no comment on the issue.
Specter, who has been pushing the administration to submit other secret programs for review, said he was close to an agreement with Vice President Dick Cheney to have judges on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court weigh the wiretaps.
He also suggested Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should explain the financial monitoring, which started soon after the Sept. 11 attacks.
But King said it's way past time to haul The Times onto a docket. "It's time for Gonzales to take the gloves off," he said. "Gonzales has an obligation to prosecute."
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