In a program separate from the NSA’s domestic spying program, the NY Times reports:

“Under a secret Bush administration program initiated weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, counterterrorism officials have gained access to financial records from a vast international database and examined banking transactions involving thousands of Americans and others in the United States, according to government and industry officials.”

The program is reported to be run by the “Central Intelligence Agency and overseen by the Treasury Department.”

Stuart Levey, an under secretary at the Treasury Department, said in an interview on Thursday that the program “has provided us with a unique and powerful window into the operations of terrorist networks and is, without doubt, a legal and proper use of our authorities.”

The Bush administration initially tried to block the NY Times and others from releasing the story, claiming “Administration officials were concerned that news reports of the program would diminish its effectiveness and could harm overall national security.”

The newspaper, which in December broke news of an effort by the National Security Agency to monitor Americans’ telephone calls and e- mails, declined a White House request not to publish a story about the government’s inspection of monies flowing in and out of the country.

The Los Angeles Times also reported on the issue Thursday night on its Web site, against the Bush administration’s wishes.

The WaPo has more on the SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) database, that is being used to track transactions. Based in Brussels, SWIFT “links about 7,800 banks and brokerages and handles billions of transactions a year.”

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