Fergie's Tech Blog

Mukasey Denies 'Dragnet' Surveillance While Demanding Telecom Spying Immunity

David Kravetz writes on Threat Level:

U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey on Saturday denied that the Bush administration -- in conjunction with the nation's telecommunication companies -- devised a "dragnet" electronic surveillance program that funneled Americans' communications to the National Security Agency without court warrants.

It was the first time Mukasey, as the nation's top law enforcement official, or the government provided an emphatic and wholesale denial of allegations contained in lawsuits accusing the Bush administration of secretly siphoning Americans' telecommunications to the NSA spy bureau without warrants following the 2001 terror attacks.

Despite the denial, which was contained in a federal court filing [.pdf] publicly available Saturday, Mukasey asked a federal judge to grant immunity to the nation's telecommunications companies accused of assisting the NSA's alleged dragnet surveillance.

posted by Fergie @ 9/20/2008 03:21:00 PM