White House tries to stop leaks

WASHINGTON, March 5 (UPI) -- The White House reportedly is targeting journalists and their possible government sources in a crackdown on leaks of classified information.

The Washington Post says the Bush administration's efforts include investigations inside the FBI and CIA, as well as a Justice Department warning that reporters could be prosecuted under espionage laws.

"There's a tone of gleeful relish in the way they talk about dragging reporters before grand juries, their appetite for withholding information, and the hints that reporters who look too hard into the public's business risk being branded traitors," said New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller, in a statement responding to questions from the Post. "I don't know how far action will follow rhetoric, but some days it sounds like the administration is declaring war at home on the values it professes to be promoting abroad."

Employees at the CIA, FBI, Justice Department and other agencies have been told that they are prohibited from discussing even unclassified issues related to the NSA's warrantless domestic surveillance program, sources told the Post.