The United States of AT&T

by emptywheel

Back in June, the Bush Administration invited one of AT&T's key lobbyists, Ed Gillespie, to serve as White House counselor. A few weeks after that, BushCo expanded AT&T's resident lobbyist's role to include most of Karl Rove's portfolio. Just days after Gillespie took over that role, the DOJ made an unusual intervention into the FCC's request for comments on Net Neutrality, weighing against Net Neutrality.

Well today, one of AT&T's former key attorneys, Peter Keisler, just took over the Department of Justice.

In the late 1990s, Keisler represented AT&T before SCOTUS in a case divvying up authority over how the 1996 Telecom Act would be implemented. He represented AT&T and other telecom companies fighting local ordinances limiting the acts of telecommuncation companies.

In early 2001, Keisler helped AT&T win the dismissal of a lawsuit that charged AT&T had illegally shared private information (a customer's unlisted phone number) with AT&T's credit division.The Second Circuit ruled that transfer of such personal information does not incur damages, and therefore private citizens cannot sue.

In June 2006, Keisler was one of a number of government lawyers arguing that New Jersey had no legal authority to subpoena documents relating to AT&T's and other telecomm companies' participation in the warrantless wiretapping program. Also in June 2006, Keisler invoked state secrets in Hepting v. AT&T, an attempt to scuttle the citizen lawsuits on the warrantless wiretap program.

In other words, both in and out of government, Keisler has represented AT&T's interests masterfully.

Which makes it rather disconcerting that the AG has the authority to authorize telecomm companies to cooperate in government spying.

(ii) Notwithstanding any other law, providers of wire or electronic communication service, their officers, employees, and agents, landlords, custodians, or other persons, are authorized to provide information, facilities, or technical assistance to persons authorized by law to intercept wire, oral, or electronic communications or to conduct electronic surveillance, as defined in section 101 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, if such provider, its officers, employees, or agents, landlord, custodian, or other specified person, has been provided with—

(A) a court order directing such assistance signed by the authorizing judge, or

(B) a certification in writing by a person specified in section 2518 (7) of this title or the Attorney General of the United States that no warrant or court order is required by law, that all statutory requirements have been met, and that the specified assistance is required,

Basically, Bush just gave AT&T the ability to have its long-time lawyer give it legal authority to collaborate with the government to spy on citizens.

And in case you're worried that AT&T is stuck with no good legal representation, having lost Keisler, rest assured. You see, former Associate White House Counsel Brad Berenson (who also happens to be Kyle Sampson and Susan Ralston's lawyer) has taken over for Keisler and is working on the AT&T case, among other things.

Comments

[mk]

So cozy it is. Such a small world.

[Terminus Est]

OK...what the hell? EVERY time I come to this site anymore I get an audio or audio/video "addon" from media-hhmi.org going on about genetics and animal size/organ size. WTF? I have nothing against such a lecture, being a molecular biologist myself, but I must say that it has absolutely diddle to do with this website or why I come here.

What gives?

[Dismayed]

Time to change the signs at the borders--

"Welcome to the United States of Corporate America"

[Rayne]

terminus est -- you may have been infected by a hijacker, from the sounds of it. I'm not experiencing that.

[zhiv]

Gillespie!

Mysterious surprise appointment of new Acting AG, no one can figure out why...

Thanks as always ew for connecting the dots.

Is anybody else ever going to take a look at Big Ed's growing track record?

[mighty mouse]

Terminus Est--I get it as well--a message that "this site" (aka TNH) wants to add on Apple Quick Time Player. Every time I come to or refresh TNH I get this quacking kind of ding and yellow banner telling me that this site wants to add on Apple Quick Time Player, ad infinitum. Does anybody know if there's a fix?

[earlofhuntingdon]

I use Firefox and never have the Apple Quicktime request or other problems. I would suspect a hijack, virus, etc.

[bmaz]

I think it might be related to this post by emptypockets:
http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/2007/09/go-learn-someth.html

[emptywheel]

There was a comedy channel embed that may have been invoking the quicktime request. I've gotten rid of it. Let me know if it's better.

[mighty mouse]

bmaz and emptywheel--I've still got it (the add on Apple Quicktime) and it did start after the post by emptypockets. I hit the little "x" every time and it goes away and then pops and quacks when I visit the site again. I should add that I am a technological dinosaur, but I don't see any option for what to do if you don't want Apple Quicktime. Thanks for your help and thanks to terminus est--I thought this was just something else I got wrong. Sigh....

[JJ]

I'm not up on HTML but I just scanned the source for the front page and the post from emptypockets includes a section to load the QT plugin, if required. Whenever the post gets archived, it will stop.

[seamus]

I've never had a Quicktime, or any AV request at TNH. Powerbook, OS 10.4.1.0, Safari 2.0.4

[sojourner]

Back on topic, I find it amazing that we are even talking about AT&T! This company was broken up after the anti-trust stuff back in (what?) the 1960s? 70s? And now, just like a zombie, it has come back from the dead with all its pieces put back in place!

Just today, I was attempting to find a phone number to call AT&T customer service. I found all kinds of information that would tell me stuff I did not want to know, but I never could find a phone number to talk to a real human being (who speaks ENGLISH)!

Bush is still a dipshit, Cheney is still a dick, and AT&T is back to taking over the world...

[JohnJ]

I thought there were several opinions that the telcoms didn't need immunization if they were working at the governments orders??

If my memory is correct about that; what the hell are they up to that they need all this legal help and protections? Is this about previous and future crimes in the upcoming frequency auction? To continue that speculation; old telcom money has to be pissed that Google wants into the game. This thing could make Halibuton et el look like street hustlers in the long run.

In short, if I'm right about the first part; we may not be thinking big enough.

[emptywheel]

JohnJ

Oh, I'm sure it's about that too. With Gillespie in WH, perhaps a wider strategy of allying closely with the telecoms.

[RickG]

In the 1990s, ATT would have been fighting against the RBOCs over the telecomm act of 1996 which basically doomed the long distance companies. ATT then was not the renamed SBC which uses the ATT name today.

[joejoejoe]

I don't know how true this is but I read a short Wired Magazine piece that basically said Japan's giant teleco NTT is an absolutely kick ass company and our giant teleco's are evil wankers. Wired was talking about technology and service not surveillance.

If anyone familiar with NTT Japan can give a brief comparison to U.S. telecos in a comment I would appreciate it.

[pdaly]

Not everything from Ma Bell is growing stronger under Bush.
QWEST's CEO Joseph Naccio, for one, in July 2007 was sentenced to 6 years in prison for 19 counts of outing a spy--I mean for 19 counts of insider trading. (Silly me. Outing a spy is only 5 years!)

Not sure if Qwest, unlike the other telecoms, tried to resist Bush's warrentless spying on Americans, but it sure would make a good story if true.

[pdaly]

or the sentence for outting a spy (and lying about) is less than 3 years if a your year is defined as 12 mos (sorry).

[emptywheel]

pdaly

In the original USA Today story on the massive cooperation on datamining, Qwest was indeed the one telecom that USA Today reported as not cooperating. Since then, some have claimed USA Today was wrong. But Qwest probably didn't cooperate.

[Jane S.]

Emptywheel enthusiasts:

I just wanted to post here that I traveled to Lexington to see Jim Comey and two law profs (Rodney Smolla & Kathleen Sullivan) discuss Plame and the first amendment at Washington & Lee Law School. Lexington is lovely. The panel was pretty broad-stroke, historical. There wasn't an opportunity to ask really detailed questions. I did get to meet Comey and he is very charming and very tall.

If anyone is interested, C-Span was there filming but I don't know when they will broadcast it.

[jonno]

AT&T is the first "sponsor" whose ad you see at the top of the Lehrer NewsHour on PBS. You think Jim would report anything that'd really piss off his enabler? Another reason I swore off all tv "news"

[pdaly]

Interesting, EW.

The fact that Nacchio didn't receive a get-out-of-jail-free card supports your contention.

And if Qwest had cooperated with Bush, I doubt Joe Nacchio can rat on the other telecoms in exchange for leniency now that AT&T's former attorney took over the DOJ.

[OrionATL]

re: the computer problems.

- i use windows

-- i went to the site emptypockets' brought to my attention.

no problems.

-- i went to the two sites mentioned by one of the commenters to emptypockets' post.

no problems.

but

i use a "spyware" (actually spyware + much more) program called "spybot search and destroy".

it is superb: all the more because it's free (unless you have a conscience).

written by an irishman if i'm not mistaken.

it provides you with control over what are called BHO's -"browser helper objects", and lots more potential webworld nuisances.

just be careful you end up at the authentic site and not a bogus one.

[MarkH]

Bush & Co rarely act frivolously, so I'd guess they want a great deal of telcom control for the forseeable future. What do they want a tight relationship with AT&T for?

There are many possibilities, but one that comes to mind is that in the future, presumably Dem, administration there will be talk...lots of talk about what to do about George. They would want to know a lot about that in order to bribe, pay off, effect changes to get the results they desire.

Perhaps the biggest issue which *might* arise in the next administration is a 9/11 commission to discover whether W was involved beyond reading a children's book. They would want to know anything and everything such a commission might come up with.

BTW, EW, have you considered whether you'd like to be involved with such a commission. You're really excellent with a timeline and an AK-47, er computer.

If the Bush mafia are to extend their influence and try to regain the mantle at some future time, then any tremendous source of information such as telcoms would be of great use. With luck they aren't going to have any direct sources within government for some years.