WikiLeaks Investigated Over 9/11 Pager Messages

CBS News reports that the senior Republican on the House Homeland Security committee has begun an investigation into how the WikiLeaks.org Web site obtained thousands of pager messages from September 11, 2001.

Rep. Peter King, who represents a congressional district east of New York City on Long Island, has directed his staff to look into last week’s release of about 573,000 lines of messages sent to pagers on that day. The logs included Secret Service, FEMA, FBI, and private sector messages.

“The staff is in a preliminary investigation period,” Kevin Fogarty, an aide to King, told CBSNews.com on Tuesday. He said that his office was currently focused on the White House party crashing, and would return to the WikiLeaks disclosure after a hearing on the White House breach scheduled for Thursday.

WikiLeaks did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Some of the disclosed pager messages appear to show a less-than organized response from federal agencies. The Secret Service was deluged with alerts both true and false. One internal FEMA message at 12:37 p.m. ET, four hours after the attacks, says: “We have no mission statements yet.”

It’s not clear how far a congressional investigation into WikiLeaks, even if it becomes formalized, can go. Although the organization’s domain name is registered through a San Mateo, Calif.-based company, the Web site is hosted in Sweden at an Internet provider known for once providing a home to The Pirate Bay.

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DHS Urged to Implement Ammonium Nitrate Regulations

Homeland Security Review QHSR

The Department of Homeland Security is being urged to implement regulations designed to make it harder for terrorists to build homemade bombs. The legislation was created 2 years ago and members of the House Committee on Homeland Security are saying it’s time enact the laws.

From ABC News
“This delay in implementing the rules for ammonium nitrate regulation is unacceptable. We are talking about matters of life and death,” says Rep. Pete King (R-NY), the Republican ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security. “The Department of Homeland Security must move quickly.”

Congressman Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of House Committee on Homeland Security, agrees that the delays have been frustrating and worrisome. “Congress addressed the threat of ammonium nitrate through legislation over two years ago. Regulating the sale of this chemical is vital to the security of the nation.”

The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement saying that the “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” is complete and that they are in the final stages of internal vetting.

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