WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- The White House on Wednesday said President Bush and Congress had agreed on access to classified intelligence information after details from a Capitol Hill briefing were leaked to the media, prompting the president to restrict disclosure to congressional leaders.
An Oct. 5 memo issued by Bush, which restricted access to classified intelligence briefings to eight members of the congressional leadership, sparked an outcry from Capitol Hill, resulting in a reversal of his decision after four days and two separate meetings with lawmakers.
"That issue did come up in the meeting with the four congressional leaders. And I think it's fair to say, message received," White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said. "There's no doubt about it that the importance of keeping classified information classified has been stressed, and the president hopes that it will be closely, exactly adhered to."
At issue was the president's order that only eight members of the congressional leadership receive clearance for classified briefings. Typically, the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, as well as the Foreign Relations Committees have clearance for classified briefings. Those committees have immediate responsibility for overseeing -- and authorizing funds for -- military activities and foreign relations. Leaders of those committees were not included in the eight members Bush said would stay in the loop on sensitive briefings.
Wednesday morning, Bush met with Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., House Speaker Dennis J. Hastert, R-Ill., and House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt, D-Mo.
Fleischer said Bush told lawmakers that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld would continue to brief members of the House Armed Services Committee and the Secretary of State would continue to provide information to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"I think we'll get through this. The president has made his point. We need to be very careful about what we reveal," Lott said later.
Bush was angered after the details of a classified briefing held on Capitol Hill seeped into media reports. The first indication that the president had changed his mind about limiting who received the highly sensitive intelligence information came late Tuesday afternoon.
Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, Jesse Helms, R-N.C., the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Reps. Henry J. Hyde, R-Ill., and Tom Lantos, D-Calif., both from the House International Relations Committee, emerged shortly after 5 p.m. from the West Wing with assurances from the president that the circle of congressional members allowed access to briefings would be widened.
It was then that Lantos said he explained to Bush that constitutional law requires the president to brief members of Congress, even during war. Congress has a duty to oversee the executive arm, Lantos pointed out.
White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan told United Press International that the president realized a memo did not supercede law. But on Wednesday, the White House said no new memo would be issued reflecting the change.
The White House would not comment on any particular news report that might have precipitated the memo. Republicans in Congress, however, said Bush reacted to an Oct. 5 report in the Washington Post about a security briefing delivered to Congress.
According to that report, administration officials reportedly predicted a "100 percent" chance of a future terrorist attack if the U.S. strikes Afghanistan.
Some lawmakers said privately that sensitive news reports that appear to originate in Congress often come from the administration. The Washington Post story cites "sources familiar with the briefing."
