United States Justice Department opens investigation into White House leaks

December 30, 2005

The United States Justice Department has started an inquiry into leaks of secret information divulged to the New York Times regarding authorization by President Bush for the National Security Agency (NSA) to use wiretaps on suspected terrorist living in the United States. The legality of the spying has been questioned.

James Robertson, a former panel judge member of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, resigned in protest over the murky question of the constitutionality of the NSA eavesdropping on international telephone calls and e-mail, which bypassed the jurisprudence of that court.