FBI looks into possible White House leaks

(CNN) -- The FBI has begun an investigation into apparent leaks of classified information involving a U.S. cyberwarfare program against Iran, a U.S. official said Wednesday.

FBI spokesman Paul Bresson had no comment on the reported investigation.

Sen. Saxby Chambliss, ranking Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he was informed that an FBI inquiry was under way as well.

The White House pushed back Wednesday against suggestions that it could be leaking classified information for political purposes.

"This administration takes all appropriate and necessary steps to prevent leaks of classified information or sensitive information that could risk ongoing counterterrorism or intelligence operations," Carney said aboard Air Force One as the president traveled to campaign events on the West Coast.

"Any suggestion that this administration has authorized intentional leaks of classified information for political gain is grossly irresponsible."

A report in The New York Times on Friday provided classified details of what it described as a U.S cyberattack.

Since the beginning of his term, President Barack Obama secretly ordered cyberattacks targeting computers that run Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities, the report said, attributing the information to participants in the program.

The White House has said it did not authorize any such leak.

Sens. John McCain and Dianne Feinstein, a Republican and a Democrat respectively, are among those expressing concerns.

"Let me be clear: I am fully in favor of transparency in government. I have spent my entire career in Congress furthering that principle," McCain, ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Tuesday.

"But what separates these sorts of leaks from, say, the whistle-blowing that fosters open government or a free press is that these leaks expose no violations of law, abuses of authority, or threats to public health or safety. They are merely gratuitous and utterly self-serving."

McCain said he was "pleased to report" that Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin agreed to hold a hearing on the matter.

Some Republicans, including McCain, have called for a special prosecutor to investigate.

In a news release Wednesday, Republican Sen. John Cornyn's office said Deputy Attorney General James Cole, in response to a question from Cornyn, said he does not believe a special prosecutor is needed in this case.

Chambliss said Wednesday that he expects the FBI to conduct a "full and fair investigation, including a review of administration officials who have been quoted anonymously or directly."

Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate intelligence committee, said she discussed the possibility of a joint hearing with Levin.

She also sent President Obama a letter "outlining my deep concerns about the release of this information," Feinstein said Tuesday. "I made it clear that disclosures of this type endanger American lives and undermine America's national security."

McCain, ranking Republican on the committee, said the alleged leaks are detrimental to U.S. security. He accused the White House of releasing the information to boost the president's political standing ahead of the November election.

He accused the White House of releasing the information to boost the president's political standing ahead of the November election.

"With the leaks that these articles were based on, our enemies now know much more than they even did the day before they came out about important aspects of the nation's unconventional offensive capability and how we use them," McCain said on the Senate floor.

"Such disclosures can only undermine similar ongoing or future operations and, in this sense, compromise national security. For this reason, regardless of how politically useful these leaks may be to the president, they have to stop."

On Tuesday, White House deputy press secretary Josh Earnest said the administration believes that classified information should remain secret for a reason, and "publicizing it would pose a threat to our national security."

McCain and Chambliss cited other recent leaks as well, including information on the administration's efforts to expand its drone program and the president's personal involvement in "kill lists" against militants in Yemen and Pakistan.

Also, the public airing of details surrounding a recently disrupted bomb plot in Yemen by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula angered intelligence and national security officials.

Chambliss said he wants an investigation into a "pattern" of leaks.