Dick Cheney thinks it's awful that the press keeps reporting on the Administration's illegal activities

Federal investigators gained access to reams of personal banking information without court approval by issuing broad administrative subpoenas, a legal tool historically associated with far less sensitive regulatory probes and one that privacy advocates say has been abused in the U.S. counterterrorism campaign.

The Bush administration insisted yesterday that the secret program, which has tracked millions of financial transactions since shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, has proved invaluable in blocking funding to terrorist networks. Treasury Secretary John W. Snow called the program "government at its best," while Vice President Dick Cheney criticized the news reports that disclosed its existence.

But new details about the program, which followed recent disclosures about warrantless wiretaps and the possible collection of phone records on millions of Americans, touched off fresh criticism of the administration's efforts to expand counterterrorism powers.

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