------ Forwarded Message > From: Sardar <sar...@spiritone.com> > Date: Sun, 11 Oct 2009 17:19:18 -0700 > To: Sardar <recon1968br...@yahoo.com> > Subject: Report: US considers phone companies 'arm of government' > > Report: US considers phone companies 'arm of government' > > Daniel Tencer > Raw Story > Sunday, Oct 11th, 2009 > > The US government doesn't have to reveal information about phone companies > that may have spied illegally on Americans because those phone companies are > an "arm of the government," the US Justice Department argued in a recent > court case. > > In a lawsuit over the Bush administration's decision to give immunity to > telecom companies over its warrantless wiretapping program, the Justice > Department argued that it doesn't have to publicly reveal what it discussed > with the phone companies because those discussions were "inter-agency > communications," explains Ryan Singel at Wired. > > He cites a passage from a court document in which the department argues that > "the communications between the agencies and telecommunications companies > regarding the immunity provisions of the proposed legislation have been > regarded as intra-agency.." > > Singel was reporting on privacy watchdog group Electronic Frontier > Foundation's two-year-long legal battle with the DoJ over access to those > communications. In 2008, the Bush administration passed a law granting > reotroactive immunity to phone companies that had participated in the > administration's warrantless wiretapping program. > > After news reports in 2007 suggested that the phone companies had lobbied > the government to have those protections put in place, the EFF launched a > freedom-of-information request to have discussions between the Justice > Department and the phone companies made public. When the government refused, > the EFF took the matter to court. > > > > On September 24, a US District Court judge sided with the EFF and ordered > the government to "release more records about the lobbying campaign to > provide immunity to the telecommunications giants that participated in the > NSA's warrantless surveillance program," the EFF stated. > > The judge gave the Justice Department until last Friday to hand over the > documents. But, late on Thursday, the government appealed for a 30-day stay > of the judge's order. That order was refused, but the judge has delayed any > further decisions on the case for another week. > > CONGRESS 'A MERE APPENDAGE' OF EXECUTIVE BRANCH? > > Blogger Marcy Wheeler at FireDogLake says there are more interesting > revelations about the government's attitude towards constitutional powers in > the delay request it filed last week. > > "The language attempting to protect agency discussions with Congress > describe Congress as a mere appendage to the executive branch which did not, > in 2008, have its own distinct constitutional interest in legislation > concerning matters in which the executive branch had been found to have > flouted duly passed laws," Wheeler writes. She cites the following passages > from the court filing (PDF): > > Given the purpose and role of the communications in the agencies' own > deliberations, the agencies have regarded their communications with Congress > as intra-agency documents under the foregoing lines of authority.. > > .In providing the agencies with information and views about legislative > options for use in the development of the Executive Branch's own legislative > position, Congress was participating in a common effort with the Executive > Branch to advance the public interest. > > "It is a fascinating comment on the state of separation of powers that > Congress would be described by the executive branch as a mere appendage to > the executive branch," Wheeler wrote. > > She also argued that there is a fundamental contradiction in the government > claiming that companies it contracted to do (potentially illegal) work would > be treated as government agencies: > > These were telecoms lobbying! Lobbying about programs that brought them > and will continue to bring them ongoing business. But by treating the > telecoms as agencies for this negotiation, the Obama Administration . is > treating this lobbying as part of the task that telecoms have been > contracted to do by the government. We are paying telecom contractors . to > lobby our government and elected representatives (who are, at this point, > just an appendage to the executive branch anyway) to make sure they continue > to get that contracted work. > > http://www.prisonplanet.com/report-us-considers-phone-companies-%e2%80%98arm-o > f-government%e2%80%99.html >
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