The LWM---Not So SWIFT

Interesting speculation regarding the damage done to the GWOT by The New York Times and its probable sources:

"We thought that once the reporters and editors understood that one, these were not warrantless searches, and two, that this was a successful program that had netted real bad guys, and three, that it was a program that was helping us with current, ongoing cases, they would agree to hold off or just not do a story," says the U.S. Treasury official. "But it became clear that nothing we said was going sway them. Whomever they were talking to, whoever was leaking the stuff, had them sold on this story."

To that end, the Justice Department has quietly and unofficially begun looking into possible sources for the leak. "We don't think it's someone currently employed by the government or involved in law enforcement or the intelligence community," says another Justice source. "That stuff about 'current and former' sources just doesn't wash. No one currently working on terrorism investigations that use SWIFT data would want to leak this or see it leaked by others. We think we're looking at fairly high-ranking, former officials who want to make life difficult for us and what we do for whatever reasons."

If it were left to the Bush Administration or Congress, who are terrified of Bill Keller and Pinch Sulzberger, we'd never find out who the leakers were. Fortunately, the American public will provide the backbone Republicans lack here. We'll know within the next year.

And I hope whomever it was gets strung up by the thumbs at Ground Zero---that would make for a lovely front page above-the-fold Times photo.