Reuters
Monday, November 14, 2005

The Senate ethics committee has dropped its investigation of Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.) regarding allegations that he was the source of a media leak about how the National Security Agency handled messages before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Shelby said yesterday that he is "gratified" the committee had closed the matter and that he feels vindicated.

The chairman and vice chairman of the committee wrote to Shelby on Friday, saying the Justice Department had referred the matter to the panel in a letter dated July 20, 2004.

The FBI began searching for the source of the leak after news reports that the NSA had intercepted two messages on Sept. 10, 2001, that hinted at an impending action, but did not translate them until Sept. 12.

According to a report that first appeared in the National Journal magazine, the ethics committee said it had insufficient evidence Shelby had done anything wrong.

Shelby, now head of the Banking Committee, was vice chairman of the Senate intelligence panel when the NSA director spoke to lawmakers in a closed 2002 hearing. Details of that meeting were leaked to the media.