January 13, 2009 - Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02) issued the following statement in response to a recent New York Times article that exposed classified information on a covert US program to "subtly sabotage" Iran's nuclear program.

“The New York Times has once again demonstrated to the world that they value newspaper sales over the safety and security of Americans.” Franks stated.  “A “whistleblowing” story like the one that ran yesterday would be understandable if it were revealing a case of wrongdoing or illegal action on the part of intelligence officials.  However, yesterday’s story only revealed, albeit covert, legitimate action by U.S. intelligence.  

"The revelation of this classified information not only compromises our efforts to halt Iran’s nuclear program, but it also diminishes our standing with American allies who may question the prudence of sharing information when that information may inevitably appear on the front page of the New York Times.  The publication of this story is a serious security breach and reveals just how painfully naive the New York Times is regarding the threat of a nuclear Iranian.”

On January 11, 2009, the New York Times published a front page article that exposed an Israeli request for U.S. conventional bunker buster bombs for an attack on Natanz, Iran’s main nuclear complex, and permission for Iraq overflight to hit Natanz. The article also unveils a covert U.S. program to "subtly sabotage" Iran's nuclear program. Lastly, the article also highlighted the Administration’s acknowledgement of the lack of results from sanctions against Iran.