The butler contractor did it?
How could BellSouth (and, for that matter, Verizon and AT&T) 1) see that the NSA got their customers' phone-call records while 2) truthfully denying that they had turned them over to the NSA?
Engaging a "designated scapegoat" to do it for them, that's how.
And apparently, such "cutouts," go-betweens and intermediaries aren't limited to the telco business.
Comments (2)
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The Muckraker.Com link did little to enlighten us, in fact it is followed by a question mark.
Gee whiz, these intrepid bloggers posit that it was NeyStar that gave the government phone records, and well if that wasn't the case, then it was some other "cutout". Duh, and so what ? These guys, I assume, are not partisan political hacks like the reporter from USA Today, Leslie Cauley, who broke the story. Turns out she contributed $2,000.00 to a Democratic congressman in 2003 and at one time had a close relationship with Leo Hindrey a former candidate for the DNC Chairmanship.
All that having been said these records are needed by the NSA in order to fight terrorism and defend this country, despite all the sanctimonious wailing from the left.
Intrusive:Wrong Illegal:Wrong
Furthermore as Dennis Byrne 40 year veteran of the Chicago newspaper scene so clearly and correctly observed the other day :
Misinformed Thunder Explained
Posted on May 20, 2006 12:52 AM
Well, I'm not saying that's how it happened. I'm saying that's one way it COULD have happened, thus the question mark on my headline.
As for fighting terrorism and defending this country, when our ports are secure and we're checking 100% of all cargo containers coming into the country, I'll take the government's claims about keeping us safe a little more seriously. Meanwhile, and not for the first time, you overlook the little detail about the warrantless wiretapping being illegal.
Posted on May 22, 2006 9:12 AM