Judge dismisses phone records lawsuit

[kpete]

Judge dismisses phone records lawsuit
By MIKE ROBINSON, Associated Press Writer

CHICAGO - Citing national security, a federal judge Tuesday threw out a lawsuit aimed at blocking AT&T from giving telephone records to the government for use in the war on terror.

"The court is persuaded that requiring AT&T to confirm or deny whether it has disclosed large quantities of telephone records to the federal government could give adversaries of this country valuable insight into the government's intelligence activities," U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly said.

Kennelly ruled in a lawsuit filed by the
American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois on behalf of author Studs Terkel and other activists who said their constitutional rights were violated because of a National Security Agency program of gathering phone company records.

Justice Department attorneys had argued it that would violate the law against divulging state secrets for AT&T to say whether it had provided telephone records to the supersecret spy agency.

more at:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060725/ap_on_re_us/phone_records_lawsuit

[atreides1]

1. Well that makes it a tie

One coward in Illinois and one hero in California. I had a feeling that the judge in Chicago was going to fold!!!

[SammyBlue]

2. Who nominated Judge Kennelly?

[onenote]

6. Bill Clinton

http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/tGetInfo?jid=2821

[Rex]

3. Off to the SCOTUS!

Let Dick Cheney's good, good hunting buddy Scalia decide. I just can't imagine the outcome. :sarcasm:

[Solly Mack]

4. what a bullshit ruling

"...could give adversaries of this country valuable insight into the government's intelligence activities"

"...would violate the law against divulging state secrets for AT&T to say whether it had provided telephone records to the supersecret spy agency."

Nothing can be known because all knowledge is a matter of national security.

America has lost it's ever loving mind.

[ThomCat]

5. Can this be reinstated up on appeal?

Are they pursuing this? Anybody know?

[Fleshdancer]

7. so if AT&T tells the truth to their customers, then the terrorists win?

Is that the logic?

Just think...terrorists didn't consider the possibility of phone taps before this story broke! Nope. I'm sure they had NOOO idea that THIS could be EVER be a possibility. :eyes:

[warrens]

8. Oh, bullshit

Any terrorist out there now assumes his phones are under surveillance. They've known that from the git-go, which is why they use disposable cell phones, public telephones, phone cards, and public internet posts. If you don't want the government to know who you are, it's not that hard. Get a stolen laptop and buy an account at Starbucks under a false name. Then never use the same Starbucks twice. Just for one example.

This is just pure fascism. The gov. can do whatever it wants, and then screeches national security when it gets caught. Bullshit.

[JAYJDF]

9. This is BuschShit

[AndyA]

10. We all anticipated this. The government is going to scream "National

Security issue" at every turn. It's all they have, and there will be some judges stupid enough or complicit enough to allow them to get away from it. We all know - any intelligent person knows - that phone records are being monitored. The fact that this activity is acknowledged means nothing. Everybody already knows.

Our Constitution and our rights and liberties are being shredded in new ways every day, and we need people with power to start saying NO to put a stop to it.