Snooping on Reporters? Possible Victims Offer Mixed Views

By: Joe Strupp Reports that federal investigators have been tracking reporters' phone calls as part of the ongoing effort to find government leaks brought concern from some journalists in Washington, D.C. who rely on such sourcing, while others said the government intrusion is nothing new.

"I am kind of worried about it, but there is not a lot I can do about it," said Tom Ricks, a Washington Post reporter who covers military affairs. "I haven't seen any proof, but I wouldn't be surprised. It would seem to make sense given what is going on."

Eric Lichtblau of The New York Times, who covers intelligence and recently won a Pulitzer Prize for helping uncover the recent eavesdropping program, said "We have heard the same rumors, but whether or not it is happening, we do not know."

Asked if the reports might affect sources' willingness to come forward, Renee Schoof, national security editor for Knight Ridder's Washington bureau, said "it is possible, but it is hard to predict."

The reports, from ABC News and The New York Sun, contend that the FBI is tracking reporter phone calls, with both news outlets quoting sources that claim the monitoring involves phone records, not conversations.

Times spokeswoman Catherine Mathis said her newspaper had not "received any notification that they are examining our records." Times Washington bureau chief Philip Taubman declined to comment, while Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr. did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Watergate legend Carl Bernstein slammed such an approach by investigators, but showed optimism that it would not result in sources drying up.

"If indeed it is being done -- which would be totally consistent with the draconian and disingenuous policies of this presidency in regard to press and the war in Iraq -- it is one more offense against the truth by President Bush and his administration," Bernstein said. "There are always going to be decent people in institutions like the CIA, when they see indecent or untruthful actions, who will respond with decent actions, who are interested in truthfulness as being an essential element of real national security.

"There will always be courageous reporters who won't be intimidated, and courageous public servants who see the press as a last resort to call attention to official lies and disinformation."

But Scott Shane, an intelligence reporter with the Times, said such monitoring could intimidate sources if they think every call they make to a reporter is suspect.

"The proliferation of leak investigations does make the job of people who report on intelligence agencies harder because sources are much less-willing to share even unclassified information," said Shane. "If a government official's number comes up in one of these investigations, they probably don't have a tape of what the government official said, so the government investigator can conclude anything they want."

Ricks noted that the crackdown on such sourcing efforts has come about as more "classic leaks" of whistleblower types are replacing the official leakers who seek to put out trial balloons on issues or discredit opponents. "People who have tried the internal channels route, and have failed, want to come to us," Ricks said.

But he stressed that the new reports on the tracking of journalist's phone calls are not changing his approach. "I've been careful for years," he said. "It doesn't make me think I have to operate differently."

Walter Pincus, a veteran Post reporter on intelligence, said he was not surprised that such tracking might be taking place. But he added it would not affect his approach. "You can't sit and worry about it," he said. "It goes all the way back to Watergate. It is just a fact of life, you go on and do what you do."

Pincus added that the federal government had long sought phone records as part of such leak investigations, noting his records had been subpoenaed in both the Valerie Plame and Wen Ho Lee investigations.

"I have always sort of lived with the basic idea that if FBI people are willing to talk on the phone, it wasn't as widespread as people think," he said about such monitoring. "I am careful when I think I need to be careful."