NSA Domestic Phone Spying before 9/11

[Dystopian]

Qwest CEO Not Alone in Alleging NSA Started Domestic Phone Record Program 7 Months Before 9/11
By Ryan Singel October 12, 2007 | 4:23:55 PMCategories: NSA, Surveillance

Startling statements from former Qwest CEO Joseph Nacchio's defense documents alleging the National Security Agency began building a massive call records database seven months before 9/11 aren't the only accusations that the controversial program predated the attacks of 9/11.

According to court documents unveiled this week, former Qwest CEO Joseph Nacchio clearly wanted to argue in court that the NSA retaliated against his company after he turned down a NSA request on February 27, 2001 that he thought was illegal. Nacchio's attorney issued a carefully worded statement in 2006, saying that Nacchio had turned down the NSA's repeated requests for customer call records. The statement says that Nacchio was asked for the records in the fall of 2001, but doesn't say he was "first asked" then.

And in May 2006, a lawsuit filed against Verizon for allegedly turning over call records to the NSA alleged that AT&T began building a spying facility for the NSA just days after President Bush was inaugurated. That lawsuit is one of 50 that were consolidated and moved to a San Francisco federal district court, where the suits sit in limbo waiting for the 9th Circuit Appeals court to decide whether the suits can proceed without endangering national security.

According the allegations in the suit (pdf)

The project was described in the ATT sales division documents as calling for the construction of a facility to store and retain data gathered by the NSA from its domestic and foreign intelligence operations but was to be in actuality a duplicate ATT Network Operations Center for the use and possession of the NSA that would give the NSA direct, unlimited, unrestricted and unfettered access to all call information and internet and digital traffic on ATTÌs long distance network. <...>

The NSA program was initially conceived at least one year prior to 2001 but had been called off; it was reinstated within 11 days of the entry into office of defendant George W. Bush.

An ATT Solutions logbook reviewed by counsel confirms the Pioneer-Groundbreaker project start date of February 1, 2001.

***Received via message-(duplicate post/old news/unacceptable source?)

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/10/qwest-ceo-not-a.html

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. Undoubtedly...

The initial reasons for this had only a tangential relationship to terrorism. To hear them talk back then, terrorism was not even on their radars. No, I suspect that the real reasons for this had more to do with economic intelligence and spying on possible and probable political opponents.

The thought that they have "the goods" on a lot of congresscritters is not as far-fetched as it might have been. That may well have been one of their original motivations.

[defendandprotect]

3. The Patriot Act was also on the shelf . . .

[liberalmuse]

2. This is HUGE.

Much bigger than Watergate. If anyone pursues it, that is.

[defendandprotect]

4. This is HUGE

This is distinctly HUGE . . . however . ..

Just want to add re Watergate that it also included the "Huston Plan" . . .
basically fashioned after "Operation Northwoods" which Nixon was going to use to cancel the elections. It was named after one of Nixon's aides who wrote it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huston_Plan

[dkofos]

5. Makes me wonder who is really in charge of the country.

[davekriss]

6. Impeach the bastards!!! (nt)

[flyarm]

7. lets get this on greatest..k&r..#4..we need #5..this is important info..

well why was the bush crew planning this one year before the election?? and they just happened to get it all together 11 days after taking office..who were they working with then..behind the scenes..

and if anyone is left in this country that doesn't believe 2000 was a coup ..i hav e swampland in fla for you!

this sure as hell didn't stop my co-workers being killed on 9/11

this needs exposure everyway possible..and we can not count on the fake media we have!

please send this info to everyone on your email lists..i just did ..

thanks for article..

fly

[Marie26]

8. K&R

Yet didn't they try to claim that they missed 9/11 because they didn't have these domestic spying techniques?

[leveymg]

9. emptywheel (Marcy Wheeler) at The Next Hurrah has been covering this in-depth

Please, read the comments, as well, a lot of well-informed commentary on these threads:

http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/2007/10/what-nacchio-te.html?cid=86217544#comment-86217544

http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/2007/10/groundbreaker-a.html

I'll also tout my own article from Thursday, which is similar to Marcy's in some ways, but focuses more on the role of the defense contractors who have privatized, expanded and taken over NSA's domestic surveillance operations since BushCo took office:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=2023410&mesg_id=2023410

Finally, you might want to read this about the cutout company the telcos set up to transfer customer call records to NSA:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1237431