U.S. sues N.J. over effort to supply phone records

[Robbien]

By MARK SHERMAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS



WASHINGTON -- The federal government sued the New Jersey attorney general and other state officials Wednesday to stop them from seeking information about telephone companies' cooperation with the National Security Agency.

The unusual filing in U.S. District Court in Trenton is the latest effort by federal authorities to halt legal proceedings aimed at revealing whether and how often Verizon, AT&T and other phone companies have provided customer records to the NSA without a court order.

New Jersey Attorney General Zulima Farber, a Democrat, and other officials sent subpoenas to five carriers on May 17, asking for documents that would explain whether they supplied customer records to the NSA, the lawsuit said.

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In this matter, the federal government said the New Jersey officials are treading on federal turf and that the companies, if forced to comply with the subpoenas, would be confirming or denying the existence of the program. President Bush and other top federal officials have refused to do that.

Assistant Attorney General Peter Keisler also warned lawyers for the phone companies that responding to the subpoenas "would violate federal laws and executive orders."

A separate letter that Keisler, head of the department's Civil Division, sent to Farber made the same points, but it took a softer approach. "We sincerely hope that you will withdraw the subpoenas, so that litigation over this matter may be avoided," Keisler said.

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