Constitutional Law

Administration Defends Immunity For Telecoms

The Obama administration is defending the constitutionality of a law that shields telecommunications companies from legal challenges over their support of the Bush administration's domestic spying program. Legal Beat reports that the Justice Department's position in a brief filed in a California federal court 'underscores the surprising degree to which the Obama administration – at least in court – is determined to shield President Bush's controversial counter-terrorism policies from legal challenge or even public scrutiny.' According to Legal Beat, the administration is urging U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker to dismiss 'a raft of consolidated lawsuits' from customers of telecommunications companies who argue their privacy rights were violated when the companies helped Bush administration eavesdrop on the calls and e-mail.

The Justice Department lawyers in their brief before Judge Walker argue that a law passed last year shielding the companies from liability is needed to protect national security. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that a 'statement Wednesday by Justice Department spokesman Matthew Miller seemed to reflect Obama's lack of enthusiasm for the law.' Miller said the 'department is compelled to defend statutes as long as it can reasonably do so, in this case the department was asked by the court to make a defense of the statute passed Congress.'

An Electronic Frontier Foundation attorney, who is representing AT&T customers in a lawsuit challenging the telecoms immunity law, told the Chronicle that it was 'unfortunate the Obama administration has taken the position that it's OK for the president to decide whether millions of ordinary Americans get their day in court. That's exactly the kind of presidential power that candidate Obama was critical of the Bush administration for.'

Full post as published by ACS Blog on February 27, 2009 (boomark / email).