Begin forwarded message: > * Newsweek Exposes Telcos' Secret Lobbying Campaign > > Newsweek's top story this week exposes the desperation of > the telecommunications companies in light of cases like > EFF's class-action lawsuit against AT&T, which accuses the > telecom giant of assisting in the illegal surveillance of > millions of Americans. The telecoms and the Administration > are heaping pressure on Congress to get a 'get out of jail > free' card for their role in helping the government spy on > their customers: > > "The campaign---which involves some of Washington's most > prominent lobbying and law firms---has taken on new urgency > in recent weeks because of fears that a U.S. appellate > court in San Francisco is poised to rule that the lawsuits > should be allowed to proceed. > > "If that happens, the telecom companies say, they may > be forced to terminate their cooperation with the U.S. > intelligence community---or risk potentially crippling > damage awards for allegedly turning over personal > information about their customers to the government without > a judicial warrant." > > The telecoms' worries are telling. Our case is representing > a class of U.S. residential customers and does not include > any terrorists - just ordinary folks who use the phone and > email. The per person penalties are quite reasonable. If > the telecoms were not spying on millions of innocent > Americans, there is no way for the liability to become > "crippling." > > Moreover, the Administration obtained prospective immunity > in the so-called Protect America Act earlier this year. If > the telecoms are only operating under the extremely broad > parameters of the PAA, there is no liability reason to stop > cooperating moving forward. And yet they are so worried > about liability, they threaten to terminate their > cooperation. > > To achieve in Congress what they could not achieve in > court, the telecoms are not holding back: > > "Among those coordinating the industry's effort are two > well-connected capital players who both worked for > President George H.W. Bush: Verizon general counsel William > Barr, who served as attorney general under 41, and AT&T > senior executive vice president James Cicconi, who was the > elder Bush's deputy chief of staff. > > "Working with them are a battery of major D.C. > lobbyists and lawyers who are providing 'strategic advice' > to the companies on the issue, according to sources > familiar with the campaign who asked not to be identified > talking about it. Among the players, these sources said: > powerhouse Republican lobbyists Charlie Black and Wayne > Berman (who represent AT&T and Verizon, respectively), > former GOP senator and U.S. ambassador to Germany Dan Coats > (a lawyer at King & Spaulding who is representing Sprint), > former Democratic Party strategist and one-time assistant > secretary of State Tom Donilon (who represents Verizon), > former deputy attorney general Jamie Gorelick (whose law > firm also represents Verizon) and Brad Berenson, a former > assistant White House counsel under President George W. > Bush who now represents AT&T." > > Against these lobbyist Goliaths, we need as much grassroots > support as we can muster. Join EFF, and call Congress today > and demand that they stop the spying: > http://www.stopthespying.org > > Read Newsweek's report: > http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20884696/site/newsweek/page/0/ > > For more on EFF's case against AT&T: > http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/att > > Join EFF now and support us in this critical case: > http://secure.eff.org/att > > For this post: > http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005453.php
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