Is Bush Administration's Bank Spy ProgramPart of a Resurgent Total Information Awareness?

The Bush administration is lashing out at The New York Times and other media outlets for their reports on the government's secret monitoring of international bank transactions without court-approval. Speaking at the White House on Monday, President Bush strongly denounced the disclosure of the program and defended its legality.

* President Bush:
"Congress was briefed. And what we did was fully authorized under the law. And the disclosure of this program is disgraceful. We're at war with a bunch of people who want to hurt the United States of America, and for people to leak that program, and for a newspaper to publish it does great harm to the United States of America."

The New York Times, followed by other news organizations, began publishing accounts of the program on Thursday evening. Vice President Dick Cheney singled out the Times for criticism saying "Some in the press, in particular The New York Times, have made the job of defending against further terrorist attacks more difficult by insisting on publishing detailed information about vital national security programs."

Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow went even farther in denouncing the media's revelation of the program.

* White House Press Secretary Tony Snow:
"[T]he New York Times and other news organizations ought to think long and hard about whether a public's right to know in some cases might override somebody's right to live, and whether in fact the publications of these could place in jeopardy the safety of fellow Americans."

The secret monitoring program was enacted shortly after the 9/11 attacks in what government officials say is a crucial weapon in tracking the financing of terrorist activity. The banking information has been obtained from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or SWIFT. The organization helps direct trillions of dollars in daily international bank transfers. SWIFT executives apparently tried to withdraw from the program after becoming concerned over its legality. The executives were persuaded to continue their cooperation only after the intervention of top government officials.

The New York Times and Los Angeles Times say the Bush administration lobbied them to withhold publication on the grounds public disclosure would harm national security. In a letters to readers on Sunday, New York Times executive editor Bill Keller wrote "We believe The Times and others in the press have served the public interest by accurately reporting on these programs so that the public can have an informed view of them."

* Jonathan Turley, a professor of constitutional law at George Washington University. He wrote an article in the Los Angeles Times about the bank monitoring program titled "Big Brother - Bush and connecting the data dots". http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-turley24jun24,1,3332362.story?coll=la-news-comment


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