Bush blocked review of NSA wiretapping program

"The president decided that protecting the secrecy and security of the program requires that a strict limit be placed on the number of persons granted access to information about the program for non-operational reasons," --Alberto Gonzales, US Attorney General in Senate Judiary Committee testimony, July 18, 2006.

The revelation by AG Gonzales that Bush blocked the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) from investigating whether the NSA wiretapping program was legal for 'non-operational reasons' raises red flags for me.  With the AG is not even claiming that the program was kept secret in order to protect its operations, I become even more suspicious that the administration knew the program was of dubious legality and therefore, in order to protect the President and the Republican Party from scrutiny that would arise upon the revalation of the program's existence, they limited knowledge of the program.  Apparently, their fear was that the more exposure the program had among those who might question the necessity or legality of such a warrentless wiretapping program, the more likely it would be subject eventually to Congressional and judicial oversight.  Of course, it could have just been the non-operational reason that the administration prefers to keep secrets and it is, in fact, their default.