ACLU Challenge ATT-BellSouth Merger, Ask FCC To Investigate Cooperation With NSA

Today the ACLU kicked things into gear with their obsession to destroy the NSA surveillance program. Today they interfered with the merger of ATT and BellSouth, asking the FCC to investigate the USA Today’s claims that they gave phone records to the NSA.

The American Civil Liberties Union said today that it has filed formal comments reminding the Federal Communications Commission of allegations that AT&T and BellSouth illegally provided customer information to the National Security Agency, and pointing out that under existing law the FCC cannot permit the pending merger between those two companies to proceed without investigating the merit of those allegations.

“As you know, a May 11th article in USA Today alleged that at least three telecommunications companies, AT&T, BellSouth and Verizon, cooperated with the NSA in an effort to collect calling information and call patterns on every American,” the ACLU said in a formal filing signed by ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero and other officials. “These actions seem to be in direct violation of statutory guarantees on the privacy of telephone calling information.”

The ACLU also reminded FCC officials that the agency “has a statutory duty as part of its review of the AT&T-BellSouth merger application to perform a full investigation of the claims reported in USA Today.”

They also filed legal papers in preparation for their upcoming case in which they are seeking to have the NSA program declared unconstitutional.

The ACLU submitted its latest legal memorandum late last night asking a Detroit court to find the National Security Agency’s surveillance program unconstitutional and in violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The memorandum is the latest step in the ACLU’s landmark lawsuit filed on January 17 in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan.

Oral arguments on the constitutionality of the NSA spying program are scheduled for June 12 before Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in Detroit. The hearing will mark the first time a federal court will hear arguments about the legality of the spying program. In an order issued May 31, Judge Taylor postponed until July 10 any argument on the government’s request to dismiss the case on state secrets grounds. The judge noted that the government had not bothered to submit briefs on the legality of the program, but said it would allow them to present arguments on June 12 “if they appear.”

The ACLU memorandum details the negative effects the ongoing surveillance program has had on Americans who must communicate with individuals in the Middle East, Africa and Asia for their work. According to the memorandum, the NSA program has caused important sources to stop communicating with the plaintiffs in the lawsuit out of fear that their communications will be intercepted.

So there is your update on the ACLU’s attempt to destroy national security. Just another day for the ACLU, making America less safe.

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