President Bush told the special prosecutor in the CIA leak case that he directed Vice President Dick Cheney to personally lead an effort to counter allegations made by former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson.

The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that wartime tribunals are not valid under U.S. law or international treaties, a political and legal blow to the Bush administration’s broad claims of executive power.

A civil rights group sued the Defense Department on Wednesday in an effort to force the Pentagon to turn over information it’s collected on peace groups and antiwar activists under a controversial program designed to track terrorists.

Rights groups say the ruling will deter employees from speaking out. The US Supreme court has limited the rights of government whistle-blowers by ruling that they will not be protected under the First Amendment.

The U.S. government has asked a pair of federal judges to dismiss legal challenges to the Bush administration’s controversial domestic eaves dropping program, arguing any court action in the cases would jeopardize secrets in the ongoing war on terrorism.