Phone privacy case pits Justice Dept. vs. states

[babylonsister]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-tap21jun21,1,637281.story?track=rss&ctrack=6&cset=true

Phone privacy case pits Justice Dept. vs. states
A federal judge will hear arguments as the Bush administration tries to block investigations into its Terrorist Surveillance Program.
By Henry Weinstein, Times Staff Writer
June 21, 2007

Can the federal government stop states from investigating whether telephone companies illegally provided customer information to the National Security Agency?

A federal judge in San Francisco will take up that issue today as the Justice Department and the phone companies attempt to block state investigations into the Bush administration's Terrorist Surveillance Program.

After published reports last year alleging that AT&T and Verizon cooperated with the government on the surveillance program, customers and the American Civil Liberties Union urged state officials to probe whether the firms had illegally shared call records with the government.

Verizon said it had not worked with the NSA. AT&T said it had always followed the law but would not comment on any dealings with the government.

After the companies declined to answer formal questions, officials from New Jersey, Missouri, Connecticut, Maine, and Vermont launched investigations.


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