Legal Loophole in NSA Spy Case

Legal loophole emerges in NSA spy program as outlined in this thoroughly researched article by Declan McCullagh of C|Net news - quoting Bradford Berenson, associate White House Counsel at the time Bush authorized the NSA surveillance program in 2001. He claims that "AT&T is essentially an innocent bystander." according to a C|Net story today. He cites federal law, 18 U.S.C. 2511, which allows a telecommunications company to provide access to calls as long as the attonrey general authroizes it in writing.

Well, now AT&T is off the hook and Congress will be chasing down the "Who knew what and when and who authorized the secret surveillance of web and phone traffic at several phone companies?" Ashcroft was Attorney General at the time, but Berenson would have been able to authorize the action if Ashcroft directed it.

So long to the EFF vs. AT&T lawsuit, it has served its purpose to expose the illegal spying, now we'll see if there is enough public outrage and ongoing furor to chase down the Attorney General (or his minions) who approved the wiretapping and web tapping in 2001.

I highly recommend reading this thorough article by Declan McCullagh while we wait for Capitol Hill press corp to bare their fangs - if they have any.

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