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Update - Captain Ed reported last night that 9-11 commissions chairs Governor Tom Kean and Congressman Lee Hamilton urged the Times not to run with the Swift Bank story.

But that is not all. Bill Keller revealed on CNN that John Murtha also urged the New York Times not to expose the terrorist surveillance program.

None or these people are allies of the Bush administration as Michelle Malkin notes. I would like to add that these revelations pigeonhole Keller’s claims that the NY Times ‘expose’ was done in the public interest.

It is clear that the Bush administration informed members of Congress; the elected politicians who are supposed to guard the “public interest”.

Bill Keller ran with the story despite being urged from the Treasury department, the Bush administration and members from the Democrat party. This demonstrates the disdain Bill Keller has for the government, the rule of law and the security of this county.

“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,” the vice president said, adding that the program provides “valuable intelligence” and has been “successful in helping break up terrorist plots.”

—- END UPDATE —-

The National Review has obtained a copy of a letter from Treasury Secretary John Snow to Bill Keller that excoriates The New York Times and its editor for undermining “a highly successful counter-terrorism program and alerted terrorists to the methods and sources used to track their money trails”.

Mr. Snow called the NY Times editors breathtakingly arrogant and asserted that Keller was less than truthful in his characterization that the Justice department “half heartedly” tried to talk the Times out of publishing the story.

Personally I believe that Mr. Snow was too easy on Keller. Minimally Keller should be fired if found guilty of violating any laws.

One overlooked aspect of this whole MSM vs. the Bush administration war is the fact that employees of our nations biggest news organizations have been actively seeking to infiltrate various established intelligence agencies of the United States government with the express goal of discovering and disseminating classified information for their own self interest. This act, when done on behalf of a foreign government or an enemy of the state is called spying.

This is no different in some aspects from my point of view. I am convinced that the information exchange is not a one way street. There is an obvious pursuit of classified information by those on the outside as well as efforts by some within the government to seek an audience for which to leak. In both cases the end result is a demonstrable negative impact to the National Security interests of the United States.

The biggest question that begs for an answer is what action should be pursued. The government needs to find some way to close the flood gates of classified information through all legal channels available. It is clear that the absence of any repercussion has led to more arrogance on behalf of both the leakers and the disseminators of such information.

I am glad to see that President Bush, Representative Peter King, Treasury Secretary Snow and others in the administration are fighting back. It is a much needed start.

The text of Secretary Snow’s letter is as follows:

Mr. Bill Keller, Managing Editor
The New York Times
229 West 43rd Street
New York, NY 10036

Dear Mr. Keller:

The New York Times’ decision to disclose the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program, a robust and classified effort to map terrorist networks through the use of financial data, was irresponsible and harmful to the security of Americans and freedom-loving people worldwide. In choosing to expose this program, despite repeated pleas from high-level officials on both sides of the aisle, including myself, the Times undermined a highly successful counter-terrorism program and alerted terrorists to the methods and sources used to track their money trails.

Your charge that our efforts to convince The New York Times not to publish were “half-hearted” is incorrect and offensive. Nothing could be further from the truth. Over the past two months, Treasury has engaged in a vigorous dialogue with the Times - from the reporters writing the story to the D.C. Bureau Chief and all the way up to you. It should also be noted that the co-chairmen of the bipartisan 9-11 Commission, Governor Tom Kean and Congressman Lee Hamilton, met in person or placed calls to the very highest levels of the Times urging the paper not to publish the story. Members of Congress, senior U.S. Government officials and well-respected legal authorities from both sides of the aisle also asked the paper not to publish or supported the legality and validity of the program.

Indeed, I invited you to my office for the explicit purpose of talking you out of publishing this story. And there was nothing “half-hearted” about that effort. I told you about the true value of the program in defeating terrorism and sought to impress upon you the harm that would occur from its disclosure. I stressed that the program is grounded on solid legal footing, had many built-in safeguards, and has been extremely valuable in the war against terror. Additionally, Treasury Under Secretary Stuart Levey met with the reporters and your senior editors to answer countless questions, laying out the legal framework and diligently outlining the multiple safeguards and protections that are in place.

You have defended your decision to compromise this program by asserting that “terror financiers know” our methods for tracking their funds and have already moved to other methods to send money. The fact that your editors believe themselves to be qualified to assess how terrorists are moving money betrays a breathtaking arrogance and a deep misunderstanding of this program and how it works. While terrorists are relying more heavily than before on cumbersome methods to move money, such as cash couriers, we have continued to see them using the formal financial system, which has made this particular program incredibly valuable.

Lastly, justifying this disclosure by citing the “public interest” in knowing information about this program means the paper has given itself free license to expose any covert activity that it happens to learn of - even those that are legally grounded, responsibly administered, independently overseen, and highly effective. Indeed, you have done so here.

What you’ve seemed to overlook is that it is also a matter of public interest that we use all means available - lawfully and responsibly - to help protect the American people from the deadly threats of terrorists. I am deeply disappointed in the New York Times.

Sincerely,

[signed]

John W. Snow, Secretary

U.S. Department of the Treasury

Others Blogging on This Story:

• Michelle Malkin: TREASURY TO KELLER: “IRRESPONSIBLE”
• California Conservative: U.S. Treasury To New York Times: “Irresponsible”
• Hugh Hewitt: Treasury Secretary Snow to Bill Keller: You Liar, You
• Hyscience: About Those Treasonous Media Leaks Of Our National Secrets During A Time Of War: Didn’t We Execute The Rosenbergs For Less? (Updated)
• FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog : Global War on Terror Watch: United States Treasury Secretary Snow Responds to Bill Keller of the New York Times

ALSO - Captain Ed has the Scoop : 9/11 Commission Chairs Asked Keller To Shelve SWIFT Report

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