Sunday, January 1, 2006
Mitch McConnell: New York Times Endangering U.S. Security
A top Senate Republican accused the New York Times on Sunday of carrying out a campaign to compromise national security by continuing to reveal top secret information about the Bush administration's terrorist surveillance program.
Asked about the prospect of public hearings into the counterterrorism program, Sen. Mitch McConnell told "Fox News Sunday": "We're already talking about this entirely too much out in public as a result of these leaks and the New York Times continuing to write about it - and it's endangering our efforts to make Americans more secure."
Citing anonymous sources, the Times reported on Sunday that former Deputy Attorney General James Comey had expressed doubts in 2004 that the Bush surveillance program was legal. However, neither Comey or any other top Justice Department official would confirm the story on the record, relegating the claim to rumor status.
The report is the latest in a series of stories by the paper on the top secret program, which was first revealed by the Times on Dec. 16
McConnell said that any congressional hearings should take a back seat to the criminal probe launched into the Times leaks on Friday, saying: "Thank God the Justice Department is investigating to find out who is endangering our national security by leaking this information so that our enemies now have a greater sense of what our techniques are in going after terrorists."
The Kentucky Republican predicted that Americans would back the White House in any fight over surveilling terrorists, noting, "An overwhelming majority of the American people understand that we needed new techniques in the wake of 9/11 to protect us."
A top Senate Republican accused the New York Times on Sunday of carrying out a campaign to compromise national security by continuing to reveal top secret information about the Bush administration's terrorist surveillance program.
Asked about the prospect of public hearings into the counterterrorism program, Sen. Mitch McConnell told "Fox News Sunday": "We're already talking about this entirely too much out in public as a result of these leaks and the New York Times continuing to write about it - and it's endangering our efforts to make Americans more secure."
Citing anonymous sources, the Times reported on Sunday that former Deputy Attorney General James Comey had expressed doubts in 2004 that the Bush surveillance program was legal. However, neither Comey or any other top Justice Department official would confirm the story on the record, relegating the claim to rumor status.
The report is the latest in a series of stories by the paper on the top secret program, which was first revealed by the Times on Dec. 16
McConnell said that any congressional hearings should take a back seat to the criminal probe launched into the Times leaks on Friday, saying: "Thank God the Justice Department is investigating to find out who is endangering our national security by leaking this information so that our enemies now have a greater sense of what our techniques are in going after terrorists."
The Kentucky Republican predicted that Americans would back the White House in any fight over surveilling terrorists, noting, "An overwhelming majority of the American people understand that we needed new techniques in the wake of 9/11 to protect us."
