White House asks for dismissal of NSA wiretap suit

Jui Chakravorty / Reuters | July 10 2006

The Bush administration on Monday asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the National Security Agency's domestic eavesdropping program, arguing that defending the four-year-old wiretapping program in open court would risk national security.

In arguments before U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in Detroit, the American Civil Liberties Union on Monday renewed its call for a court order that would force the government to suspend its program of intercepting without a court order the international phone calls and e-mails of U.S. citizens.

But the U.S. Justice Department has asked federal judges in Detroit and New York to throw out the landmark challenges to the eavesdropping program.

In both cases, the Bush administration has invoked a legal doctrine known as the "state-secrets privilege" that it has used to head off other court action spy programs.

"If the court accepts the state-secret argument, we are truly facing a constitutional crisis in this country," Michael Steinberg, legal director for ACLU Michigan, told reporters after the hearing.

The ACLU, which filed the lawsuit in January, argues that the NSA wiretaps violate free-speech and privacy rights protected by the U.S. Constitution.

Government lawyers on Monday argued that the NSA program was key to protecting national security.

"This program targets members or agents of al Qaeda," Anthony Coppolino, the lead attorney for the Department of Justice said in the hearing, which lasted an hour and a half.

The Bush administration on Monday asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the National Security Agency's domestic eavesdropping program, arguing that defending the four-year-old wiretapping program in open court would risk national security.

In arguments before U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in Detroit, the American Civil Liberties Union on Monday renewed its call for a court order that would force the government to suspend its program of intercepting without a court order the international phone calls and e-mails of U.S. citizens.

But the U.S. Justice Department has asked federal judges in Detroit and New York to throw out the landmark challenges to the eavesdropping program.

In both cases, the Bush administration has invoked a legal doctrine known as the "state-secrets privilege" that it has used to head off other court action spy programs.

"If the court accepts the state-secret argument, we are truly facing a constitutional crisis in this country," Michael Steinberg, legal director for ACLU Michigan, told reporters after the hearing.

The ACLU, which filed the lawsuit in January, argues that the NSA wiretaps violate free-speech and privacy rights protected by the U.S. Constitution.

Government lawyers on Monday argued that the NSA program was key to protecting national security.

"This program targets members or agents of al Qaeda," Anthony Coppolino, the lead attorney for the Department of Justice said in the hearing, which lasted an hour and a half.

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