Justice Dept. Opens Domestic Spying Probe

BREITBART reports The Justice Department has opened an investigation into the leak of classified information about President Bush's secret domestic spying program, Justice officials said Friday. The officials, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the probe, said the inquiry will focus on disclosures to The New York Times about warrantless surveillance conducted by the National Security Agency since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Convene a grand jury and call the NYT reporters and editors. Any that won't reveal their sources should be jailed.

The Times revealed the existence of the program two weeks ago in a front-page story that acknowledged the news had been withheld from publication for a year, partly at the request of the administration and partly because the newspaper wanted more time to confirm various aspects of the program.

But mainly because their reporter had not finished his book, and the Patriot Act was not yet up for renewal.

Michelle Malkin blogged Random thoughts:

1) Won't be long before we start hearing the Bush-haters at the Times and elsewhere moaning about how this probe is a waste of time/distraction from the important business of Congress/politically motivated(!).

But we need to stress how this leak has hurt our national security, unlike the Plame leak

2) Look for the Plamegate apologists to argue that the NSA leaks were "good" leaks, justified in the name of safeguarding civil liberties and the national interest, and should therefore be exempt from criminal prosecution.

They are traitors to their country, in a time of war, and should be prosecuted, and once found guilty, they should be shot.

By contrast, they argue that disclosures about Valerie Plame were "bad" leaks worthy of pulling out all prosecutorial stops--though no one has been charged with leaking classified info, and even if they did, the adverse effects on national security are infinitesimal compared to the damage done by the NYT/NSA leaks.

Absolutely.

The law, may I remind the Bush-bashers, does not grant an exception based on leakers' motives. See Scott Johnson's analysis of the statutory language here.

3) The chickens will be coming home to roost at the Times, which crusaded loudly for a special prosecutor in Plamegate. Any bets on how long it will take for Eric Lichtblau and James Risen to roll over? I'd guess a few weeks after Risen's book launch.

And in plenty of time for the 2006 elections.