Bush looking for spy program leaker - Why now?

The AP reports that the Justice Dept. is investigating the revelation of Bush's illegal NSA domestic spying program, according to unnamed sources.

The officials, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the probe, said the inquiry will focus on disclosures to The New York Times about warrantless surveillance conducted by the National Security Agency since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The Times revealed the existence of the program two weeks ago in a front-page story that acknowledged the news had been withheld from publication for a year, partly at the request of the administration and partly because the newspaper wanted more time to confirm various aspects of the program.

Why is this probe happening only now?

Bush has known for at least a year that somebody in his government was talking to the Times about the spying program. His administration even convinced the paper to withhold publication until, as it happens, after the 2004 election. Could it be because the investigation might have become news before the story itself did? Think about what that says about George W. Bush.

If the public knowledge of this domestic spying program is such a threat to national security, the president should have gone after the leaker the instant he learned of the leak. When confronted by the media, he has denounced the leaker(s) in the strongest possible terms. Why, then, was he content to keep this traitorous serpent close to his breast for so long? Imagine the damage that could have been done.

No, it is more likely that the leaker(s), if found, will be punished for something much more insidious by this president's standards: embarrassing George W. Bush. We know from Bush's own words to Bob Woodward that he does not like having to explain himself. In fact, he does not believe he should ever have to explain himself. So, what greater crime could there be than forcing him to do exactly that?

And, what can we expect next? An investigation into who leaked the investigation?

But let this point never be forgotten: George W. Bush delayed for more than a year an investigation that he believes is critical to the national security of the United States. He should be forced to explain why he did that.

UPDATE

The Washington Post advances the AP story with details about this investigation and others:

Justice prosecutors will examine whether classified information was unlawfully disclosed to the New York Times, which reported two weeks ago that the National Security Agency had been conducting electronic surveillance on U.S. citizens and residents without court-approved warrants.

The probe is the latest in a series of controversial investigations into leaks of classified information during the Bush administration, including the disclosure of a CIA agent's identity that has resulted in criminal charges against former vice presidential adviser I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

The Justice Department has also opened a probe into whether classified information was illegally disclosed to The Washington Post, which reported on a network of secret CIA prisons in Eastern Europe and elsewhere.

It hardly seems legitimate to mention the Plame leak investigation in the same breath as the NSA and CIA secret prison leak probes. In the first case, the administration has bent over backwards to protect highly placed White House officials involved in outing a covert operative out of political revenge. In the latter two, Bush is bending over backwards to protect the secrecy of things he has no legal right to do in the first place.