The Bush administration has filed papers with a San Francisco federal court asking the judges to throw out a lawsuit against AT&T. The reason: the administration claims the lawsuit would reveal 'state secrets' about the administration's secretive warrantless wiretapping program.
The government is not a party to the lawsuit. The case was brought by an Internet privacy group called the Electronic Frontier Foundation and AT&T is the main defendant. The suit accuses the telephone and electronics giant of colluding with the National Security Agency (NSA) to make information available to the NSA without proper court warrants.
The Bush administration claims that its decision to file the brief seeking the dismissal of the lawsuit does not mean the allegations contained in the case are true. It does, however, demonstrate that the suit could disclose 'government and military secrets.'
According to papers filed in court by the plaintiffs, AT&T provided the NSA with electronic surveillance equipment and spying rooms on AT&T property. The suit alleges that the setup allows the NSA to monitor all communications on the AT&T network.
U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker is expected to hold a hearing next month as to whether or not the documents should be made available to the public.
The Bush administration, led by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, has claimed it has the right to conduct secret surveillance of American citizens without a warrant despite the FISA Act, which established a court to issue warrants in such situations.
Gonzales has claimed that such acts are inherently within the powers of the president as commander-in-chief and that Congress authorized Bush to take such measures after the September 11 attacks. Most members of Congress dispute the administration’s claims that they authorized warrantless spying on American citizens.
