UNCONSTITUTIONAL... THAT'S WHAT THE PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CALLED THE GOVERNMENT'S SECRET SEIZURE LAST YEAR OF TWO MONTHS OF AP JOURNALISTS' PHONE RECORDS.{SOT: Gary Pruitt, Associated Press President & CEO}"We don't question their right to conduct these sort of investigations. We just think they went about it the wrong way, so sweeping, so secretively, so abusively and harassingly and overbroad that it constitutes and unconstitutional act."THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT DISCLOSED THE RECORDS SEIZURE - INVOLVING MORE THAN 20 PHONE LINES USED BY AT LEAST 100 JOURNALISTS - IN A LETTER THE AP RECEIVED MAY 10TH.PROSECUTORS SAID THEY WERE CONDUCTING A LEAKS INVESTIGATION INTO HOW THE AP LEARNED EXCLUSIVELY ABOUT AN AL-QAIDA BOMB PLOT IN YEMEN AROUND THE ANNIVERSARY OF OSAMA BIN LADEN'S DEATH. PRUITT SAID THE AP STORY CONTRADICTED THE GOVERNMENT'S CLAIM AT THE TIME THERE WAS NO TERRORIST PLOT.{SOT: Gary Pruitt, Associated Press President & CEO}"So they were misleading the American public. I don't know if they were doing it intentionally or the left hand didn't know what the right hand was doing, but we felt the American public deserved to know the story."PRUITT SAID THE AP HELD THE INFORMATION FOR NEARLY A WEEK, AT THE GOVERNMENT'S REQUEST, UNTIL IT WAS TOLD THE STORY NO LONGER POSED A NATIONAL SECURITY RISK.LAST WEEK, ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER - WHO RECUSED HIMSELF FROM THE INVESTIGATION - DEFENDED THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT'S ACTIONS.{SOT: Eric Holder, Attorney General, May 14}"This is among, if not the most serious, within the top two or three most serious leaks that I've ever seen."BUT AT LEAST ONE LEADER ON CAPITOL HILL WANTS A CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATION.{SOT: Sen. John Cornyn, (R) Texas}"We want to get them in front of the Judiciary Committee, put them under oath and get to the bottom of it. I think we have to do that to regain the public's confidence."PRUITT WORRIES THE GOVERNMENT'S ACTIONS HAVE ALREADY HAD A CHILLING EFFECT ON NEWSGATHERING.{SOT: Gary Pruitt, Associated Press President & CEO}"Sources, just in the normal course of newsgathering recently say, 'We dont necessarily want to talk to you, we don't necessarily want our phone records monitored by the U.S. government.'"PRUITT SAID THE AP HASN'T DETERMINED WHETHER IT WILL TAKE LEGAL ACTION AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT.KELLY DASCHLE, ASSOCIATED PRESS.