DOJ lawyer who leaked Bush spy program is censured for ethics failure

The Justice Department lawyer who disclosed the secret and warrantless surveillance program then-President George W. Bush adopted in the immediate aftermath of the Sept.11 terror attacks was publicly censured Aug 25 by a federal appeals court for breaching legal ethics. As a Lawyer for the Justice Department's Intelligence Policy and Review unit, Thomas Tamm violated professional conduct rules for disclosing to The New York Times "confidences" and "secrets," the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit concluded. As part of his Justice Department duties, Tamm was tasked with requesting electronic surveillance warrants from the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The District of Columbia Court of Appeals Board of Professional Responsibility said Tamm became aware in 2004 that certain applications to that FISA Court for national security surveillance authority "were given special treatment" and he leaked details of the program to the newspaper.