On the National Journal Report that the Attorney General Advised the President to Shut Down the OPR Investigation of the NSA Program

"I am extremely concerned by the report that the Attorney General may have known he was a target of an internal investigation relating to his authorization of the illegal NSA wiretapping program, and yet advised the President to effectively shut down the probe by denying investigators the necessary security clearances. Congress and the American public deserve to know whether the Attorney General of the United States acted ethically and appropriately. The President should immediately issue the clearances needed to permit the Office of Professional Responsibility's NSA investigation to proceed, regardless of whether the Attorney General himself is a target. That investigation should also consider whether the Attorney General conducted himself properly in making his recommendation to the President. Obviously, the Attorney General must recuse himself from any further involvement in this matter.

"Whether Department of Justice attorneys acted lawfully and ethically in connection with the NSA program is only one question that remains unanswered more than five years after that illegal program commenced. Congress still must investigate how and why the Administration conducted illegal wiretapping of American citizens rather than following the law that Congress passed to permit such surveillance."

Update: Here's a new letter sent to Alberto by Kennedy, Feingold, Durbin, and Schumer