Feds appeal loss in NSA wiretap case By Declan McCullagh http://news.com.com/Feds+appeal+loss+in+NSA+wiretap+case/2100-1036_3-6100612.html
Story last modified Mon Jul 31 18:32:29 PDT 2006 The Bush administration has asked a federal appeals court to halt a lawsuit alleging AT&T illegally opened its communication networks to surveillance by the National Security Agency. Permitting the lawsuit to proceed would endanger national security and possibly expose classified information, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a legal brief filed on Monday. It also nominated Laurence Silberman, a federal appeals court judge in Washington, D.C., to serve as an expert in this case. A former deputy attorney general, Silberman was appointed by President Reagan and serves on the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review. The brief is a response to a July 20 ruling by U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco, who surprised lawsuit watchers by saying there are "sufficient" grounds to let the lawsuit continue. "Because of the public disclosures by the government and AT&T, the court cannot conclude that merely maintaining this action creates a 'reasonable danger' of harming national security," Walker wrote. In a 24-page brief filed on Monday, the Justice Department asked the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to review the case because of the "serious risk" of disclosing sensitive information. "The district court has, in a highly unusual action, overruled the government's assertion of the state secrets privilege, and has thereby placed at risk particularly sensitive national security interests," the brief says. In a class action lawsuit filed in January, the Electronic Frontier Foundation alleged that AT&T violated federal wiretapping laws by cooperating with the NSA. AT&T has declined to comment, although its attorneys have hinted that legal authorization exists. (In general, federal wiretapping law prohibits electronic surveillance "except as authorized by statute" or by the attorney general.) After EFF's lawsuit was filed, reports of a secret room in an AT&T building in San Francisco surfaced and have become central to the nonprofit group's litigation. A former AT&T employee, Mark Klein, has released documents alleging the company spliced its fiber optic cables and ran a duplicate set of cables to Room 641A at its 611 Folsom Street building. Redacted documents seen by CNET News.com show that AT&T has tried to offer benign reasons for the existence of such a room. In its 17-page reply (click here for PDF) filed on Monday, the Justice Department said it had appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and asked Walker to halt proceedings temporarily while the appeals court reviewed the matter. "Any attempt to proceed now risks the very disclosures that an appeal is intended to address and the potential harm to national security at stake," the government said. Reply with a "Thank you" if you liked this post. _____________________________ MEDIANEWS mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
