US Attorney General Eric Holder has said the drip that prompted the seizure of Associated Press (AP) telephone records had put the us "at risk".
The AP has stated the justice department secretly seized records of outgoing calls from a lot more than 20 phone lines.
The leak came in a justice department inquiry launched after the AP ran a story on a CIA operation to interrupt a bomb plot while it began with Yemen.
The news agency called the seizure a "massive as well as unprecedented intrusion".
On Tuesday, Mr Holder said he had removed himself "early on" from the investigation that led towards the records subpoena.
Mr Holder said he'd stepped aside because he had been interviewed in June 2012 as part of a leak investigation and desired to avoid the appearance of the conflict of interest.
Speaking to reporters upon Tuesday, the attorney general said he had removed himself out associated with "an abundance of caution" and that the leak had "put the actual American people at risk", requiring "very aggressive" techniques to investigate.
"I've been a prosecutor since 1976 and I must say that this is among - otherwise the most serious - it is among the top two or 3 most serious leaks that i have ever seen, " he said.
He told reporters the decision to go ahead using the Associated Press records subpoena was taken underneath the supervision of Deputy Lawyer General James Cole after he removed himself in the inquiry.
The justice department has provided no specific explanation for the scope of the seizure. AP chief executive Gary Pruitt wrote in a letter there could be "no possible justification for this overbroad collection".
No advance notice
Records for the phone lines of five reporters and an editor who were involved in the AP story were among those obtained in April and may 2012.
AP said the seizure associated with records included general switchboard numbers and a fax line at its offices in New york, Hartford, in Connecticut, Washington DC and the us House of Representatives.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said previously Tuesday that President Barack Obama had no understanding of the justice department's actions in regards to the AP subpoena other than what he'd read in press reports.
News organisations are typically notified in advance if the government seeks such information and are given time to negotiate or visit court to block the seizure. The AP says it had been first informed of the seizures on Friday following the fact.
The Obama administration has aggressively investigated disclosures of classified information towards the media, bringing more cases against people suspected of seeping such material than any previous administration, correspondents say.
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The AP has stated the justice department secretly seized records of outgoing calls from a lot more than 20 phone lines.
The leak came in a justice department inquiry launched after the AP ran a story on a CIA operation to interrupt a bomb plot while it began with Yemen.
The news agency called the seizure a "massive as well as unprecedented intrusion".
On Tuesday, Mr Holder said he had removed himself "early on" from the investigation that led towards the records subpoena.
Mr Holder said he'd stepped aside because he had been interviewed in June 2012 as part of a leak investigation and desired to avoid the appearance of the conflict of interest.
Speaking to reporters upon Tuesday, the attorney general said he had removed himself out associated with "an abundance of caution" and that the leak had "put the actual American people at risk", requiring "very aggressive" techniques to investigate.
"I've been a prosecutor since 1976 and I must say that this is among - otherwise the most serious - it is among the top two or 3 most serious leaks that i have ever seen, " he said.
He told reporters the decision to go ahead using the Associated Press records subpoena was taken underneath the supervision of Deputy Lawyer General James Cole after he removed himself in the inquiry.
The justice department has provided no specific explanation for the scope of the seizure. AP chief executive Gary Pruitt wrote in a letter there could be "no possible justification for this overbroad collection".
No advance notice
Records for the phone lines of five reporters and an editor who were involved in the AP story were among those obtained in April and may 2012.
AP said the seizure associated with records included general switchboard numbers and a fax line at its offices in New york, Hartford, in Connecticut, Washington DC and the us House of Representatives.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said previously Tuesday that President Barack Obama had no understanding of the justice department's actions in regards to the AP subpoena other than what he'd read in press reports.
News organisations are typically notified in advance if the government seeks such information and are given time to negotiate or visit court to block the seizure. The AP says it had been first informed of the seizures on Friday following the fact.
The Obama administration has aggressively investigated disclosures of classified information towards the media, bringing more cases against people suspected of seeping such material than any previous administration, correspondents say.
Here's more regarding have a look at
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