Media Update: Lawsuits Filed Against Phone Companies

AT&T, Verizon, and Bell South have been named in multiple lawsuits involving their reported cooperation with the National Security Agency (NSA) in providing massive amounts of personal phone records of American citizens without a warrant or a supoena.

The companies are being sued in order to obtain an injunction to halt the turning over of records, to destroy existing records and to insure that due process of law and protection of constitutional rights are carried out in any future telecommunications monitoring. While those authorizing the program in the Bush administration could face criminal charges, if a class action proceeds against the phone companies they could be liable for up to $2 billion dollars in violations ($1,000 per customer for over 200 million customers).

Six days ago Mr. Bush made a statement at the White House on this issue:

"I want to make some important points about what the government is doing and what the government is not doing.

First, our international activities strictly target Al Qaeda and their known affiliates. Al Qaeda is our enemy, and we want to know their plans. Second, the government does not listen to domestic phone calls without court approval. Third, the intelligence activities I authorized are lawful and have been briefed to appropriate members of Congress, both Republican and Democrat. Fourth, the privacy of ordinary Americans is fiercely protected in all our activities".

In 6 days all the information that has been reported in the news indicates that 3 out of 4 of Mr. Bushs' points appear to be untrue.

Link to our original posting on this topic.