- Feb 23, 2005
- 22,902
- 2,359
- 126
So. It seems our new POTUS is taking the same position as Bush on the Patriot Act. Not only has his administration strenthened it, he is now officially protecting the industry, and it's lobbyists. How he can talk about change and transperancy and continue many of the same policies Bush did shows he is nothing more than...a politician. He is really not different. He should be impeached and tried as Bush should have been for this.
Oh well.
Obama Protects AT&T, Verizon Lobbying Records
A Federal Judge has demanded, three times now, that the Obama Administration hand over documents that highlight how major phone companies AT&T and Verizon lobbied for legal immunity for their involvement in the government's warrantless wiretap program. The government, with no real legal footing to stand on, has now tried to delay that release three times in order to keep those documents out of the ongoing Congressional discussion about domestic wiretapping.
Interestingly, Politico has obtained a leaked government e-mail that suggests that even if and when the Obama Administration releases the documents, they may continue to protect the names of the companies involved in the lobbying. A government filing from yesterday offers Uncle Sam's murky position on why:
"Disclosure of such information would assist our adversaries in drawing inferences about whether certain telecommunications companies may or may not have assisted the government in intelligence-gathering activities," Justice Department lawyers argue in the new motion. "Disclosure of the identities of those individuals and entities that may have assisted, or in the future may assist, the government with intelligence activities could impede the government's ability to gather intelligence information."
Of course leaks have already suggested AT&T and Verizon are the major players here, though there may be dozens of other companies involved. If the Obama administration is acting to shield these companies from financial damage, that raises questions about whether that's the government's job (and a good use of tax dollars). It also obviously violates the administration's transparency campaign promises. Given how hard the government is fighting against the release of these documents, you have to be curious about what new information they might contain.
UPDATED: Once Again, Government Moves to Delay Release of Telecom Lobbying Documents
October 15th, 2009
This evening, the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Justice filed yet another emergency motion with the Ninth Circuit, asking for a stay of the deadline to release telecom immunity lobbying documents, less than 24 hours before the documents are due to be released to the public.
Almost simultaneously, a report appeared on Politico.com, claiming that the government will be releasing some documents, while fighting in court to hide the remainder. Despite this report, the government's motion seeks to delay disclosure of all the documents, and no new documents have been released just yet.
For those following this saga, this is deja vu all over again. Last week, when the documents were due to be turned over by Friday, October 9, the government asked the Court of Appeals for a stay, a motion that was denied by the Ninth Circuit in short order. Later that same afternoon, the government asked Federal District Court Judge Jeffrey White for an additional delay, a request that Judge White ultimately denied, giving the government a new deadline of Friday, October 16, by 4 p.m. Pacific time.
This has been a long fight -- since 2007, EFF has been working towards the release of these records after media reports revealed an extensive lobbying campaign seeking immunity for telecoms that participated in the government's unlawful surveillance program. As we've said before, we look forward to receiving the documents and making them public so that they can play a much-needed role in the active congressional debate over repealing telecom immunity.
UPDATED October 16, 3:15pm: Friday morning, EFF filed opposition to the government's motion. The government then filed a reply.
3:50pm: In order to give itself more time to decide whether to grant the requested stay, the Ninth Circuit Court has extended the deadline for disclosure of documents another week, until 5pm PT on Friday October 23.
Oh well.
Obama Protects AT&T, Verizon Lobbying Records
A Federal Judge has demanded, three times now, that the Obama Administration hand over documents that highlight how major phone companies AT&T and Verizon lobbied for legal immunity for their involvement in the government's warrantless wiretap program. The government, with no real legal footing to stand on, has now tried to delay that release three times in order to keep those documents out of the ongoing Congressional discussion about domestic wiretapping.
Interestingly, Politico has obtained a leaked government e-mail that suggests that even if and when the Obama Administration releases the documents, they may continue to protect the names of the companies involved in the lobbying. A government filing from yesterday offers Uncle Sam's murky position on why:
"Disclosure of such information would assist our adversaries in drawing inferences about whether certain telecommunications companies may or may not have assisted the government in intelligence-gathering activities," Justice Department lawyers argue in the new motion. "Disclosure of the identities of those individuals and entities that may have assisted, or in the future may assist, the government with intelligence activities could impede the government's ability to gather intelligence information."
Of course leaks have already suggested AT&T and Verizon are the major players here, though there may be dozens of other companies involved. If the Obama administration is acting to shield these companies from financial damage, that raises questions about whether that's the government's job (and a good use of tax dollars). It also obviously violates the administration's transparency campaign promises. Given how hard the government is fighting against the release of these documents, you have to be curious about what new information they might contain.
UPDATED: Once Again, Government Moves to Delay Release of Telecom Lobbying Documents
October 15th, 2009
This evening, the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Justice filed yet another emergency motion with the Ninth Circuit, asking for a stay of the deadline to release telecom immunity lobbying documents, less than 24 hours before the documents are due to be released to the public.
Almost simultaneously, a report appeared on Politico.com, claiming that the government will be releasing some documents, while fighting in court to hide the remainder. Despite this report, the government's motion seeks to delay disclosure of all the documents, and no new documents have been released just yet.
For those following this saga, this is deja vu all over again. Last week, when the documents were due to be turned over by Friday, October 9, the government asked the Court of Appeals for a stay, a motion that was denied by the Ninth Circuit in short order. Later that same afternoon, the government asked Federal District Court Judge Jeffrey White for an additional delay, a request that Judge White ultimately denied, giving the government a new deadline of Friday, October 16, by 4 p.m. Pacific time.
This has been a long fight -- since 2007, EFF has been working towards the release of these records after media reports revealed an extensive lobbying campaign seeking immunity for telecoms that participated in the government's unlawful surveillance program. As we've said before, we look forward to receiving the documents and making them public so that they can play a much-needed role in the active congressional debate over repealing telecom immunity.
UPDATED October 16, 3:15pm: Friday morning, EFF filed opposition to the government's motion. The government then filed a reply.
3:50pm: In order to give itself more time to decide whether to grant the requested stay, the Ninth Circuit Court has extended the deadline for disclosure of documents another week, until 5pm PT on Friday October 23.
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