Phone Companies Muzzled On Eavesdropping
WASHINGTON, Oct. 16, 2007
(AP) Three telecommunications companies have declined to tell
Congress whether they gave U.S. intelligence agencies access to
Americans' phone and computer records without court orders, citing
White House objections and national security.
Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell "formally invoked
the state secrets privilege to prevent AT&T from either confirming or
denying" any details about intelligence programs, AT&T general
counsel Wayne Watts wrote in a letter to the House Energy and
Commerce Committee.
Qwest and Verizon also declined to answer, saying the federal
government has prohibited them from providing information, discussing
or referring to any classified intelligence activities.
"Our company essentially finds itself caught in the middle of an
oversight dispute between the Congress and the executive relating to
government surveillance activities," Watts wrote.
The White House declined to comment on the matter Monday.
The letter from Verizon provided some detail on the kind of
information the government is seeking.
Verizon has been regularly asked in subpoenas and national security
letters to identify a "calling circle" for certain telephone numbers
and to provide related subscriber information.
The company has never complied with such a request as it does not
maintain calling-circle records, according to Verizon general counsel
Randal Milch.
The House is about to consider a new government eavesdropping bill.
The White House has threatened to veto the bill unless it includes
retroactive legal immunity for telecommunications companies that
assisted government investigations without court orders.
The Bush administration has said the companies cooperated in good
faith because of their patriotism and desire to protect the country
in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and should not
be punished.
However, last week a Colorado court unsealed documents in the case of
former Qwest CEO Joseph Nacchio, who was convicted of insider trading
in April. Nacchio, who is appealing his conviction, maintains the
National Security Agency asked Qwest to allow it to conduct
electronic surveillance without a court order in February 2001, six
months before the Sept. 11 attacks.
On Monday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich.,
asked the Justice Department and McConnell for a full briefing on
what he termed Nacchio's "disturbing revelation."
House Democrats vowed last week not to grant immunity in the
eavesdropping bill without being told exactly what the companies did
that requires legal protection.
Roughly 40 lawsuits have been filed against telecommunications
companies for their alleged cooperation with the Terrorist
Surveillance Program, the details of which are classified. U.S.
intelligence agencies reportedly eavesdropped on calls and e-mails in
the United States without court orders.
A Senate version of the bill, scheduled for committee action on
Thursday, is likely to include an immunity provision.
The Bush administration has thus far refused to disclose to Congress
details of the program other than classified briefings provided to a
small group of House and Senate intelligence committee members.
Telecommunications companies regularly and legally provide assistance
to intelligence and law enforcement agencies. According to Verizon's
Milch, the company received 88,000 lawful requests and demands for
information from government entities - 34,000 from federal officials
and 54,000 from state and local officials. Of those, 23,700 were
emergency requests, 300 of them from federal officials.
Verizon received more than 1,000 wiretap and other court orders in
2006, he said. It has received more than 630 court orders since last January.
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Received on Sat Mar 02 2024 - 00:57:28 CST