Court orders Bush administration to disclose telecom ties.
By on Nov 29th, 2007 at 12:34 pm
Court orders Bush administration to disclose telecom ties.
Glenn Greenwald reports:
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has won another significant legal battle, as a federal judge in California yesterday ordered the Bush administration (.pdf) to comply with EFF’s FOIA demand and disclose documents revealing its “communications with telecommunications carriers and members of Congress” regarding efforts to amend FISA and provide amnesty to telecoms. Better still, the court imposed an extremely quick deadline for release of these documents — December 10 — so that “the public may participate in the debate over the pending legislation on an informed basis.”
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A Bush administration spokesperson replied, “Ah ha ha ha ha!”
November 29th, 2007 at 12:36 pmYippee! Another win for The People!
November 29th, 2007 at 12:38 pmThis might be a nice Christmas gift to this democracy.
November 29th, 2007 at 12:39 pmUnfortunately, The Shrub administration has the resources of the national treasury to spend my tax money to send an appeal to a higher court.
November 29th, 2007 at 12:39 pmDamn! Why do the courts hate America?? They’re helping the terrorist.
November 29th, 2007 at 12:40 pmMaybe now we can find out how long before 9/11 the telcoms were playing footsie with Cheney & Bush.
November 29th, 2007 at 12:44 pmAmazing that the Bush administration doesn’t want to hold telecom companies “legally” accountable and at the same time doesn’t want anyone to know “why” they want to grant them “legal” amnesty. What is it exactly that telecom companies did that they need to be granted s “amnesty” for doing? If they didn’t violate the law, they wouldn’t need “amnesty”! This isn’t about the telecom companies anyway. It’s about the “legal” precident that what the White House asked the telecom companies to do was itself ILLEGAL and that the White House is complicit in their crimes!
November 29th, 2007 at 12:46 pmOh let’s see, what will GW666 do in response to this request…
1. Claim the old National Security BS
2. Claim Executive Privilege, because everything he does is a crime.
3. Tell his staff to ignore the courts, which he has done many times.
4. Tell his boys at the Supreme Court to change the results (Florida again)
5. Go on TV and claim that Activist Judges are helping the terrorists.
6. All of the above.
Bush/Cheney
Hague Trials ‘09
Buck Fush
November 29th, 2007 at 12:51 pmUnfortunately, The Shrub administration has the resources of the national treasury to spend my tax money to send an appeal to a higher court.
Comment by MapleStreet — November 29, 2007 @ 12:39 pm
Good thing for us, however, is that the “higher court” in this case would be the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals — which has a long history of not favoring the views of the reich wing.
We only have to hope this one never makes its way up to the Supreme Court, where the Scalia/Thomas/Roberts/Alito block can use this case to continue to wreak its havoc on the U.S. Constitution and the rights of individual citizens…
November 29th, 2007 at 12:51 pmOkay, and if they don’t what will happen??
November 29th, 2007 at 12:52 pmHere comes the old “Executive Privelage” card. And of course the Democrats will roll over for their afternoon belly-rub from Cheney. Good little Democrats they are.
November 29th, 2007 at 12:53 pmOkay, and if they don’t what will happen??
Comment by maxamillion
Congress will pass a non-binding resolution telling Bush to obey the law.
November 29th, 2007 at 12:54 pmThanks, Dogfather; well said.
It also occurred to me after you named the ‘Bush Bloc’ in SCOTUS that if you took the first letter of each last name, you’d have…
Roberts
Alito
Thomas
Scalia
Fitting, eh?
November 29th, 2007 at 12:55 pmThat judge will need to watch her six!
The FOIA law only compels “responsive, non-exempt” disclosures. The exemption (14?) are pretty clear.
November 29th, 2007 at 1:22 pmFOIA Exemptions: http://www.corporateservices.noaa.gov/~foia/foiaex.html
November 29th, 2007 at 1:22 pmThe order only requires the production of “responsive, non-exempt†documents. Those are two major limitations.
Comment by cold_hard_left
This blogger seems rather happy that the Bush administration might keep vital information from the American people. So when Bush wins and the country loses, you get happy?
November 29th, 2007 at 2:00 pmMaybe now we can find out how long before 9/11 the telcoms were playing footsie with Cheney & Bush.
Comment by Zimzone — November 29, 2007 @ 12:44 pm
In our dreams. My bet is that any documents related to this matter will have been “lost”. And if that ploy doesn’t work, we can expect to hear the words “executive privilege” again. They will only have to stall until January 20, 2009. And then the new resident of the Oval Office will make some declaration about “moving forward” and all Bushco crimes will be forgotten.
November 29th, 2007 at 2:09 pmyes!
November 29th, 2007 at 2:27 pmso that “the public may participate in the debate over the
pending legislation on an informed basis.â€
very cool…
keep an eye on that kevin martin and his FCC dreams…
November 29th, 2007 at 3:34 pm.
… which the Republicans in the Senate will promptly filibuster.
November 29th, 2007 at 5:13 pmIt’s getting closer and closer to the WH gang…
One of this days they will be caught before they can destroy emails and other evidence. There will be no pardon if the “chief” and the “vice-chief” get what they deserve: PRISON!!!
This administration is all Bush-it, isn’t it?
November 30th, 2007 at 2:57 amWe can only hope! December 10… I’ll be waiting!
November 30th, 2007 at 3:25 am