Conservatives claimed NY Times alerted terrorists, ignored Bush administration's prior promotion of its bank-tracking efforts

Summary: Numerous conservative commentators joined the Bush administration in arguing that, in detailing a secret Treasury Department program designed to monitor terrorists' international financial transactions, a June 23 New York Times article tipped off terrorists to the U.S. government's ability to track their financial activities -- some going so far as to accuse the newspaper of treason. But the Times report was hardly the first indication of U.S. efforts to monitor terrorists' financial transactions: President Bush himself repeatedly touted the government's capability to track and shut down terrorists' international financial networks.

Following the publication of a June 23 New York Times article detailing a secret Treasury Department program designed to monitor terrorists' international financial transactions, President Bush and other senior administration officials accused the newspaper of tipping off America's enemies and jeopardizing national security. Numerous conservative commentators joined the White House in arguing that the Times had informed terrorists of the U.S. government's ability to track their financial activities -- some going so far as to accuse the newspaper of treason, as Media Matters for America noted. But the June 23 report was hardly the first indication of U.S. efforts to monitor terrorists' financial transactions: President Bush himself touted the government's capability to track and shut down terrorists' international financial networks, presumably signaling long before June 23, 2006, that they had reason to suspect their banking activities were being monitored. Moreover, the administration itself acknowledged nearly two years ago having "witnessed an increasing reliance by Al Qaida and terrorist groups on cash couriers."