Iraq Wiretap Delay Not Quite as Presented

Lag Is Attributed to Internal Disputes and Time to Reach Gonzales, Not FISA Constraints

By Dan Eggen

Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 29, 2007; Page A08

Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell told Congress last week that a May wiretap that targeted Iraqi insurgents was delayed for 12 hours by attempts to comply with onerous surveillance laws, which slowed an effort to locate three U.S. soldiers who had been captured south of Baghdad.

But new details released this week portray a more complicated picture of the delay, which actually lasted about 9 1/2 hours and was caused primarily by legal wrangling between the Justice Department and intelligence officials over whether authorities had probable cause to begin the surveillance.