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The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has asked all 17 senators on the joint Senate-House intelligence committee to turn over appointment books, schedules and phone records in an intensified probe of a classified intelligence leak, The Washington Post reported Saturday.
In a memo passed to the Senate counsel's office on Aug. 7, the FBI asked for records pertaining to the lawmakers' activities on June 18 and June 19, the report said.
At a classified hearing on June 18, Lt. Gen. Michael V. Hayden, director of the National Security Agency (NSA), spoke to lawmakers about two highly sensitive messages that hinted at an impending action that the agency intercepted on the eve of Sept. 11 but did not translate until Sept. 12.
On June 19, CNN reported the contents of two messages based on NSA intercepts. The Arabic-language messages said, "The match is about to begin," and "Tomorrow is zero hour." Other news outlets also reported on the intercepts.
The NSA is one of the most secretive intelligence agencies in the United States. Much of its information carries a higher classification than other sorts of intelligence. It is illegal to release classified information.
At the joint intelligence committee's request, the FBI is conducting an investigation into accusations made by White House officials that someone affiliated with the committee leaked the NSA intercepts to reporters.
The FBI is focusing on the senior senators who are members of the Senate-House panel investigating Sept. 11 and have the most sensitive intelligence. A similar request did not go to House intelligence committee members.
Senator Bob Graham, a Democrat from Florida who heads the Senate intelligence committee, said through a spokesman that he is cooperating with the investigation and has asked staff members to gather the requested records.
In recent weeks, FBI agents finished questioning nearly 100 people, including all 37 members of separate House and Senate intelligence committees and some 60 staff members. Most people refused to take polygraph tests as FBI requested.
(Xinhua News Agency August 25, 2002)
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