Rich Pedroncelli/AP
White House, lawmakers differ in views of recent leaks
Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein is at odds with the administration on national security leaks.
Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein's reputation for toughness when it comes to cracking down on national security leaks is bringing her dangerously close to butting heads with the White House. As Reuters' Mark Hosenball and Susan Cornwell report, the Senate Intelligence Committee chairwoman is considering joining Republican calls for an outside investigation of U.S. national security leaks, but according to a transcript from the White House's Thursday press briefing, President Obama is adamantly opposed to such an investigation.
On Thursday, Feinstein joined the House intelligence committee's Republican chairman Mike Rogers and Democrat C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger for a rare Capitol Hill press conference to lament a series of leaks regarding President Obama's classified "kill list" and CIA cyber attacks to The New York Times. Feinstein said she's still pondering the idea of a "special counsel" but finds the leaks damaging to national security. "I am deeply disturbed by the continuing leaks of classified information to the media, most recently regarding alleged cyber efforts targeting Iran’s nuclear program," she said. The White House, on the other hand, wants nothing to do with an outside investigation of the leaks.