Bush Justice Official Refuses To Answer Questions In Senate Testimony

Walter Pincus for WaPo reports that Deputy U.S. Attorney Matthew W. Friedrich angered Senators when he appeared before the Judiciary Committee, due to his failure to be forthcoming with replies to their inquiries. Friedrich declined to answer a question asked by Committee Chair Specter, about whether the Bush administration had ever considered prosecuting journalists for national security leaks. The witness also refused to answer questions about why the FBI had attempted to review papers of deceased columnist Jack Anderson. "You're basically taking what would be called a testifying Fifth Amendment. You should be ashamed of yourself, or your superiors should be ashamed of themselves," Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) told Friedrich after he declined to answer questions from committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa).