[NYTr] AT&T Must Face Justice for Illegal Spying

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

Electronic Frontier Fdtn - Aug 15, 2007
http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2007_08.php#005407


AT&T Must Face Justice for Illegal Spying

NSA Surveillance Comes Under Fire Today in Appeals Court Battle

San Francisco - In a packed San Francisco courtroom today, the
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) urged the 9th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals to allow AT&T customers to continue to fight against illegal
spying on their telephone and Internet communications.

EFF is representing the plaintiffs in Hepting v. AT&T, a class-action
lawsuit brought by AT&T customers accusing the giant telco of violating
their rights by illegally assisting the National Security Agency in
domestic surveillance. The U.S. government is fighting to get the
class-action lawsuit thrown out of court, contending that the
litigation jeopardizes state secrets.

"The courts cannot permit the government to evade responsibility for
unconstitutional activities with thin claims of 'state secrets.'
Without judicial review, there is no way to stop abuses of power," said
EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn. "The courts are well equipped to protect
state secrets while determining whether the spying is illegal and if
so, to put a stop to it."

"In trying to shut down this case, the government is hoping to avoid
accountability for spying on millions of AT&T customers," said EFF
Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston. "Our system of checks and balances is
supposed to thwart abuses of power. The White House is trying to wiggle
out of those checks by taking the courts out of the picture."

Also Wednesday, the court heard arguments on the future of Al-Haramain
Islamic Foundation v. Bush, a case alleging that the federal agents
illegally wiretapped calls between the charity and its lawyers. The
government also wants this case dismissed on state secrets grounds.

"The President is trying to hide behind a veil of false secrecy to
evade a judicial determination that he broke the law. We're asking the
court to see through that ploy," said Jon B. Eisenberg of Eisenberg and
Hancock, LLP, attorney for the Al-Haramain plaintiffs.

C-SPAN television recorded today's hearing and said it would air later
in the day.

The appeals court did not make a ruling Wednesday. The decision will be
released at a later date.

Contacts:

Rebecca Jeschke
Media Coordinator
Electronic Frontier Foundation
press at eff.org

Jon B. Eisenberg
Attorney for the Al-Haramain plaintiffs
Eisenberg and Hancock, LLP
jon at eandhlaw.com

Ashlee Albies
Attorney for the Al-Haramain plaintiffs
ashlee at albieslaw.com
Posted at 04:49 PM