Both parties have deplored what they called a cascade of leaks in recent days. | JAY WESTCOTT/POLITICO Holder names leak probe prosecutors

Attorney General Eric Holder on Friday named two federal prosecutors to oversee investigations into leaks of classified information that have roiled Congress and led to calls for a special prosecutor.

His decision came hours after President Barack Obama denounced the notion that the White House was engaging in politically motivated leaks and declared that he had “zero tolerance” for such national security breaches.


Holder tapped U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., Ronald Machen and U.S. attorney for Maryland Rod Rosenstein to head the probes.

( See also on POLITICO: The 'leak' wars)

“These two highly-respected and experienced prosecutors will be directing separate investigations currently being conducted by the FBI,” Holder said in a statement Friday evening. “I have every confidence in their abilities to doggedly follow the facts and the evidence in the pursuit of justice wherever it leads.”

Holder indicated that the two prosecutors were “fully authorized to prosecute criminal violations discovered as a result of their investigations and matters related to those violations, consult with members of the Intelligence Community and follow all appropriate investigative leads within the Executive and Legislative branches of government.”

The announcement seems intended to head off Republican lawmakers’ calls for a special prosecutor that would be completely independent of the Justice Department.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said Thursday that the White House did not view a special prosecutor as necessary and that officials had confidence that the usual procedures for investigating leaks would be vigorously pursued.

In recent days, lawmakers from both parties have deplored what they called a cascade of leaks of sensitive national security secrets disclosed in news reports. House members and senators have complained about reports of a U.S.-led cyberattack on Iran’s nuclear program, stories about Obama’s involvement in authorizing deadly drone strikes and reports that the U.S. infiltrated an Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group plotting an attack on a U.S. airliner.

Holder did not specify which leaks were being investigated. Government officials usually decline to do so because such a statement could confirm the accuracy of the classified information that was published.

“The unauthorized disclosure of classified information can compromise the security of this country and all Americans, and it will not be tolerated,” Holder said in his statement. “The Justice Department takes seriously cases in which government employees and contractors entrusted with classified information are suspected of willfully disclosing such classified information to those not entitled to it, and we will do so in these cases as well.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said he and Holder had discussed the appointment of the prosecutors, whom he praised as “strong, capable, independent.”

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) said their investigation must be fair and thorough.

“These U.S. attorneys will need to have the ability to follow the investigation wherever it may lead,” he said. “I look forward to hearing how they will be independent from the chain of command.”

Rogers also said Friday that the Justice Department’s National Security Division had been recused from one of the investigations because officials there had access to some of the information that was allegedly leaked.

Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in a joint statement said Holder’s action “falls far short” of what is needed.

“We are confident the two U.S. Attorneys hand-picked by Attorney General Holder are fine men. However, if there was ever a situation where we needed an outside special counsel that would enjoy bipartisan acceptance and widespread public trust, it is now … This investigation involves some of the most serious breaches of national security in recent memory and any investigation must be done in a manner free and clear of political considerations. The recent decision of the Attorney General falls far short of what is needed and is not an adequate substitute for an outside special counsel.”

“There are many capable attorneys who have earned respect from the public and both parties. We strongly believe a special counsel should be appointed outside Justice Department control and influence. Someone in the mold of a Bob Bennett, who is extremely competent and enjoys bipartisan respect.”

McCain previously had called for a special prosecutor to probe the latest spate of national security disclosures, calling it “simply unacceptable” that the Obama administration would pursue charges against Manning and other low-level officials but “apparently sanction leaks made by senior administration officials for political purposes.”

A Justice Department official said Friday that some National Security Division prosecutors will continue to participate in the probe.

“Line prosecutors from the Counterespionage Section will continue to work on both investigations — ultimately reporting to Rosenstein and Machen for purposes of these investigations,” said an official who asked not to be named.

Earlier Friday, Obama defended his administration’s commitment to protecting national security secrets.

“Since I’ve been in office, my attitude has been zero tolerance for these kinds of leaks and speculation, ” Obama said during a brief news conference. “Now, we have mechanisms in place where if we can root out folks who have leaked, they will suffer consequences. In some cases, it’s criminal — these are criminal acts when they release information like this. And we will conduct thorough investigations, as we have in the past.”

A total of six leak-related criminal cases have been filed during Obama’s presidency — more than all previous cases in modern U.S. history. Pfc. Bradley Manning faces a court martial for allegedly sending hundreds of thousands of military reports and diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks.

Rosenstein’s office participated in one of those leak prosecutions: the case against a Hebrew linguist who worked in a Maryland office of the FBI. The linguist, Shamai Leibowitz, pled guilty to disclosing classified information to a blogger.

Leibowitz, a peace activist and attorney in Israel and a member of the New York bar, received a 20-month prison sentence in 2010 and became the first leaker sent to prison during the Obama administration. He was released last year.

Obama vehemently denied the accusation.

“The notion that my White House would purposely release classified national security information is offensive,” the president said. “It’s wrong.”

A federal law that required the appointment of special prosecutors under certain circumstances expired in 1999.

Justice Department regulations allow the attorney general to appoint a special counsel from outside the department in the event of a conflict of interest. However, those provisions have been rarely if ever used in recent years and Holder has not taken that step with regard to the recent leaks.

More commonly, in such situations prosecutors inside the department have been assigned to take over investigations they might not ordinarily be assigned.

The U.S. Attorney in Chicago, Patrick Fitzgerald, was assigned in 2010 to investigate the discovery of photographs of interrogators in the cells of Guantanamo prisoners and to determine how lawyers for those detainees got back-channel classified information about interrogators. Fitzgerald was chosen to oversee the investigation because it was determined that lawyers at Justice Department headquarters might have had a conflict.

In April, Fitzgerald announced that the probe had resulted in the indictment of former Central Intelligence Agency officer John Kiriakou in Alexandria, Va. on charges that he disclosed the identities of interrogators and lied to federal agents. Kiriakou pled not guilty and is awaiting trial. His is one of the six leak-related cases brought during the Obama administration.

In 2008, Attorney General Michael Mukasey announced the assignment of a senior assistant U.S. attorney in Connecticut, John Durham, to investigate the destruction of interrogation videos by CIA personnel. The move came after federal prosecutors in Virginia recused themselves. In 2009, Holder expanded Durham’s portfolio by instructing him to look into cases where detainees were allegedly abused or killed in Central Intelligence Agency custody.

In November 2010, Durham concluded the core of the video destruction probe without bringing charges.

Holder announced in June 2011 that Durham had concluded his preliminary review of alleged abuse or death of 101 detainees. Holder said 99 cases were closed and two were determined to warrant full-scale investigation. No results of those probes have been announced.