WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, today sent a letter to the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) John Negroponte requesting a damage assessment after the disclosure to news media of classified intelligence programs critical to national security. The Chairman made the following statement today:

“First and foremost, those who knowingly revealed classified information to the media must be prosecuted. Our government has the right – and the responsibility – to protect the methods by which we detect and deter terrorists. Those who leaked information about classified operations only help those who wish to harm us. With these leaks to the media, we are rapidly losing our ability to defend ourselves.

“At the same time, The New York Times has the right to print what it sees fit to print. But, just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

“In my opinion, there was no public interest served by disclosing an effective and highly classified intelligence program that is legal and properly overseen by Congress and the Executive Branch. The New York Times knew that and printed the story anyway. I understand newspapers want to sell papers and authors want to sell books, but some things shouldn’t be for sale.

“While the media, without question, is highly effective at communicating information to the world, it is incredibly ineffective at repelling attacks on Americans. We cannot continue to operate in a system where the government takes steps to counter terrorism while the media actively works to disclose those operations without any regard for protection of lives, sources and legal methods.

The following is the text of the Roberts letter to Negroponte follows:

“Unauthorized disclosures of classified information continue to threaten our national security – exposing our sensitive intelligence sources and methods to our enemies. Numerous, recent unauthorized disclosures of sensitive intelligence programs have directly threatened important efforts in the war against terrorism. Whether the President’s Terrorist Surveillance Program or the Department of Treasury’s effort to track terrorist financing, we have been unable to persuade the media to act responsibly and protect the means by which we protect this nation.

“To gain a better understanding of the damage caused by unauthorized disclosures of this type, I ask that you perform an assessment of the damage caused by the unauthorized disclosure of some of our most sensitive intelligence programs. While your assessment may range beyond the President’s Terrorist Surveillance Program and Treasury’s Terrorist Finance Tracking Program, I am particularly interested in the damage attributable to these two unauthorized disclosures.”