Link:

[url]http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=514&e=1&cid=514&u=/ap/20020802/ap_on_go_co/congress_leaks_investigation_10[/url]

Full story:

Lawmakers Refuse Lie Detector Tests
Fri Aug 2, 2:02 PM ET

By CHRISTOPHER NEWTON, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Lawmakers have been refusing requests by the FBI that they take lie detector tests as part of an investigation into leaks from a congressional inquiry into the Sept. 11 attacks, a leader of the inquiry said Friday.

Sen. Richard Shelby, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he refused to take the test and he believes all other lawmakers did so as well.

"I don't know who among us would take a lie-detector test," said the Alabama senator. "First of all, they're not even admissible in court and second of all, the leadership (of both parties) have told us not to do that."

Shelby said he believes all 37 members of the House and Senate intelligence committees, which are conducting the joint inquiry, have been questioned by the FBI.

In an interview with Associated Press reporters, Shelby said leaders of the inquiry realize they made a mistake in asking the FBI to investigate the leaks.

"Here we are investigating the FBI for huge failures and now we're asking them to investigate us," he said.

He said it also violates the government's separation of powers.

"You know the Senate and, I assume the House, has always investigated their own," he said.

A law enforcement official said the exams "are always voluntary." Lie-detector tests are a standard element of FBI investigations and are meant to eliminate people from suspicion.

The FBI's investigation is broad ? several dozen congressional staff members also have been questioned and even some CIA agents have been interviewed.

Investigators are trying to determine who leaked information to CNN about communications in Arabic that made vague references to an impending attack on the United States. The communications were intercepted by the National Security Agency on Sept. 10.

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Of course they refused...

Can you imagine if someone slipped in some campaign questions during the test?????

[shock][shock][shock][shock]

An intelligence source later told The Associated Press they contained the phrases, "Tomorrow is zero hour" and "The match is about to begin."

The intercepts weren't translated until Sept. 12.

Their relevance is uncertain. Intelligence officials said it wasn't clear if the conversations referred to the Sept. 11 hijackings. Even if they did, they offered few clues about the nature of the attacks.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer has called the disclosure of the language "alarmingly specific."

"The selective, inappropriate leaking of snippets of information risks undermining national security, and it risks undermining the promises made to protect this sensitive information," he said.

The leak investigation was sought in June by Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Rep. Porter J. Goss, R-Fla., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

Asked at the time whether lawmakers would submit to FBI interviews and polygraphs, Goss said they "will cooperate with the FBI in any way possible."

Concern about leaks has been a key reason the White House has opposed creating an independent commission to investigate the Sept. 11 attacks, a panel sought by some lawmakers and victims' relatives.

President Bush has said the intelligence panels were better positioned to avoid leaks, that they "understand the obligations of upholding our secrets and our sources and methods of collecting intelligence."

But Bush has clashed with Congress before over leaks. On Oct. 5, he limited sensitive congressional briefings to leaders of the House and Senate and their intelligence committees. He dropped the restrictions a week later after Graham and Goss assured him they would rein in lawmakers.