[Infowarrior] - Declassified docs show fight over surveillance, telecom immunity

[Richard Forno]

Declassified docs show fight over surveillance, telecom immunity
Posted by Declan McCullagh

http://www.news.com/8301-13578_3-9832641-38.html

The Bush administration has released formerly classified documents that show
how it is pressing Congress to rewrite surveillance law and immunize
telecommunications companies from lawsuits.

What's also interesting about the documents, which were released in response
to the Freedom of Information Act on Monday, is how much is redacted. Entire
pages have been excised, in one case leaving only two paragraphs visible.

A few highlights from the the files (1 and 2) obtained by the Electronic
Frontier Foundation after a court battle:

€ Pages 6-8 of file 1: National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell told
Congress three months ago that surveillance red tape required intelligence
agencies to wait 12 hours to tap an Iraqi phone number--a claim that already
has been called into question.

These documents give a detailed timeline that doesn't exactly jibe with what
McConnell claimed. They say that the the NSA notified the Justice Department
at 12:53 p.m. on May 15 that it believed it had the authorization to conduct
domestic eavesdropping in this situation. The Justice Department received a
formal request at 5:15 p.m. Because Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was
traveling, he was not able to authorize it until 7:18 p.m. That's not
exactly 12 hours.

€ Page 35 of file 1: McConnell argues in a "TOP SECRET" document that
retroactive immunity for AT&T and other telecommunications companies is
necessary: "It is equally critical that private entities that are alleged to
have assisted the (intelligence community) in preventing further attacks on
the United States be insulated from liability for doing so."

So that's all the nation's top spook is willing to say in a "TOP SECRET"
document? Maybe "TOP SECRET" classifications are like U.S. dollars: They
used to be worth a lot more than they are today.

€ Pages 59-64 of file 1: In a kind of governmental FAQ, the National
Security Agency claims that its "minimization procedures" that limit
electronic eavesdropping of U.S. citizens protect Americans' privacy rights.
If the NSA is targeting a foreigner overseas, it says, its eavesdroppers
will take extra precautions.

The NSA says, however, that it is "not reasonable to impose time limits" on
when it should "drop that individual"--a U.S. citizen inside the United
States--as a person of interest. It also objects to enshrining those
internal procedures in law, claiming it would "be difficult to change" if
necessary.

€ Page 6 of file 2: The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has
located a "telephone message slip that contains the handwritten personal
notes" from an employee. It's being withheld under FOIA on four separate
grounds--including that it's been classified.