Tough Calls

Both the Los Angeles Times and New York Times report this morning that counterterrorism officials are tracking the financial records of people suspected of having ties to Al Qaeda. The program was first reported last night on the two paper’s websites along with the Wall Street Journal.

LAT ran the story despite Treasury Department officials urging the publication not to. LAT DC bureau chief Doyle McManus told the AP the decision to publish the story “was a tough call; it was not a decision made lightly.”

NYT editor Bill Keller also heard from administration officials. “We remain convinced that the administration’s extraordinary access to this vast repository of international financial data, however carefully targeted use it may be, is a matter of public interest.”

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