Judge dismisses telecom wiretap suits
Published: June 3, 2009
Updated 5 months ago
A federal district court judge in San Francisco has dismissed more than three dozen lawsuits filed against the nation’s telecommunications companies for their role in the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program.
Judge Vaughn Walker ruled on Wednesday to uphold legislation passed by Congress last summer that retroactively protected the companies against liability for their participation in what was then an illegal activity.
That legislation overruled Walker’s previous decision that a lawsuit brought by the Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF) against AT&T in 2006 could go forward. “Congress has manifested its unequivocal intention to create an immunity that will shield the telecommunications company defendants from liability in these actions,” Walker wrote in his latest ruling.
The judge also ordered state officials to halt their investigations of telecom participation in the surveillance program. If the decision is upheld, Americans may never know how the telecoms were induced to participate. However, the EFF plans to appeal the decision to the next level, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
A few other wiretapping cases that were brought against the government rather than the telecoms are still pending. Describing government officials as “the primary actors in the alleged wiretapping activities,” Judge Walker deferred his decision on those.
Walker also deferred his decision concerning the Obama administration’s refusal on national security grounds to turn over a log of telephone calls which an Islamic charity says show it was targeted by illegal wiretaps.
According to AllGov.com, “Twice since the beginning of this year Walker has told the Department of Justice to work out a way so the plaintiffs of a lawsuit can access secret evidence for their case against the U.S. government’s warrantless wiretapping program during the Bush administration. And twice Obama’s Justice Department has refused to comply with Walker’s demand.”
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I wonder what method of blackmail the government placed on him to do a 180? It’s of course no surprise. There is no rule of law and the government is run by thugs and thieves.
Another loss of our Constitutional rights against illegal search. Another feather in Obama’s cap. His plutocrat masters are so proud of their new man; how he’s picked up the flag dropped by Bush and marches on so strongly with it.
Obama: Orwellian change we can’t believe in.
Fucking disgusting! This country is run by liars, thieves, con men (and women), murderers, rapists, war criminals, and traitors. My country is gone. Our Constitution is in shreds… the oligarchs rule. These evil bastards must be stopped before we become a third world country. The neocons are running everything at the behest of the Illuminati and Bilderbergs (Free Masons).
So much for the fucking Seventh Amendment. Oh well, at least we can still buy guns.
Long live the second half of the Second Amendment! /s
Congress can just pass laws that make Constitutionally illegal things legal, even retroactively. If our system of government is still actually working, the judicial branch will say No, No, No! I wait eagerly to find out if our government, designed by the founding fathers, is still functioning.
Here is a downloadable collection of related items including widely scattered pdf’s converted to html with links to citations and supreme court decisions, congressional testimony, transcripts, CRS reports, issues briefings and articles.
http://thewall.civiblog.org/rsf/nsa.html
Good Luck!
-dcm
” I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. . . . Corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money-power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed. ” - Author unknown
I believe the author here is Abraham Lincoln…
.
R E M E M B E R:
They(sic) hate us for our freedoms, our way of life”…
… And so They(sic) have lobbied, debated and legislated away our foundational freedoms so as to alter our way of life.
.
oh please our 4th amendment rights are soooooo pre 9/11.
we are done.
Instead of posting whining comments, giving up and throwing your hands up in despair, why not do something about this. No single judge’s ruling is beyond appeal or correction. Instead of wasting time writing posts in which you give up the fight, why not use the reach of the Internet to look into this judge’s background, political affiliations/connections, educational history, civic involvement, recreation activities, writings, clubs, property holdings, etc.
I’m sure even a little research will reveal very interesting things that could help explain who he really is working for and why he is ruling against the citizens of the United States. In other words, if we all get involved and not give up, we can expose the rest of this cabal of anti-Constitution, anti-American citizens right wing operatives.
Come one, let’s get busy! There’s far more of us than them! And we have justice and the Constitution on our side. Don’t give up! Never, ever give up!
from http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/tGetInfo?jid=2483 (via Google)
Walker, Vaughn R.
Born 1944 in Watseka, IL
Federal Judicial Service:
Judge, U. S. District Court, Northern District of California
Nominated by George H.W. Bush on September 7, 1989, to a seat vacated by Spencer M. Williams; Confirmed by the Senate on November 21, 1989, and received commission on November 27, 1989. Served as chief judge, 2004-present.
Education:
University of Michigan, A.B., 1966
Stanford Law School, J.D., 1970
Professional Career:
Law clerk, Hon. Robert J. Kelleher, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, 1971-1972
Private practice, San Francisco, California, 1972-1990
Race or Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
According to AllGov.com, “Twice since the beginning of this year Walker has told the Department of Justice to work out a way so the plaintiffs of a lawsuit can access secret evidence for their case against the U.S. government’s warrantless wiretapping program during the Bush administration. And twice Obama’s Justice Department has refused to comply with Walker’s demand.”
So much for Obama’s promise to reduce Secrecy and run and open administration.
Well, Senator Obama Did Vote for Immunity for the Telecoms, Didn’t He?
To have Justice We Will have to Push Obama To Do The Right Thing.
I think he will, IF WE PUSH HARD ENOUGH.
TORTURE IS A FEDERAL CRIME
SEE http://tinyurl.com/besdd3
It is Never Debatable and Never Morally Correct.
IT is a heinous Federal Capital Crime.
IS OBAMA PROTECTING BUSH AND CHENEY?
They obviously violated Federal Law.
SIGN THE PETITION To Prosecute Them For Torture
http://ANGRYVOTERS.ORG
Over 250,000 have signed
Join them and call yourself a Patriot
.
So now congress can do away with the Constitution …
One can get lost in the wilderness of frustration if phases of an empire freezing to death is not taken into consideration.
Do not put too much faith in a dying empire. The trees, rivers, and people will be around after the empire is gone. Like Italy and France still have beautiful country scenes and fine people there many years after the Roman Empire fell.
Do not let your sadness take you down.
This is SO wrong on so many levels. It’s unconstitutional both on fourth Amendment issues as well as being an ex-post-facto law.
I’m a 28-year Telecomm guy who,
1. Specialized in installation, final-test and turnup of broadband carrier systems including satellite, microwave and fiberoptic transport systems.
2. Worked in the same building as Mark Klein, 611 Folsom St., San Francisco for 10 years during the 1980’s
3. Was personally responsible for keeping A.T.&T.’s long distance service working in the critical first 24 hours after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. You may not have been able to call across town, but you could call across the country. I did that.
I read Klein’s EFF affadavit on these lawsuits from the above perspective and I am telling all of you that the ONLY way for the warrantless wiretaps to work, BY DESIGN, is to monitor ALL voice and data traffic. THAT’S the structure they’ve built. So the NSA is monitoring ALL domestic AND international traffic. I know this is true because 611 Folsom St. had NO international circuits leaving that office when I worked there. Furthermore, if the NSA’s goal was merely to monitor international traffic only, they could have done it far less expensively by placing their secret rooms at the international traffic choke point offices, satellite earth stations like Three Peaks and Transoceanic Cable Terminals like the Transpac Terminal Office in Los Osos, near Morro Bay, Ca.
The other reason they had to have blanket immunity is on page 17 of Klein’s affadavit where they list the circuits where the optical hybrids were installed. They read like a Who’s Who of other telecomm companies like Level 3, Qwest, XO, Cable & Wireless and others who lease block service capacity from A.T.&T. So, if A.T.&T. wasn’t telling their block customers, they certainly weren’t telling individual users. What this all means is anybody who talked on the phone or sent confidential or secret company info including trade secrets, the NSA now has copies. So Privacy of communications is Dead.
The irony for me is that, when I started in the business in 1980, the Communications Act of 1934 was still in effect. I had to sign documents acknowledging that I was liable for job termination, civil AND criminal penalties for revealing the contents of ANY conversation I overheard in the performance of my duties. Something I had to do on a daily basis when moving live traffic around. So we have gone from one extreme to the other.
Why would anyone act like this is such a big surprise?