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Vermont eyes NSA surveillance lawsuit Louis Porter Vermont Press Bureau | June 17 2006 MONTPELIER — A lawsuit filed by the federal government to stop an inquiry by the state of New Jersey into an alleged phone surveillance program of the National Security Agency has Vermont officials wondering whether a similar fate awaits proposed investigations into the matter here. They likely will know soon. The first Public Service Board hearing on the issue is scheduled for the middle of next week. "It is possible the federal government will insert themselves into the process here and assert their jurisdiction," said Commissioner of Public Service David O'Brien. "I don't know. We will have to see." But it is his department's responsibility to ask the Public Service Board to examine if phone records of Vermonters were given to the NSA, and if it was done legally, and that is what they are doing, O'Brien said. The New Jersey Attorney General's office issued subpoenas to five phone companies asking them for details of any involvement in the federal anti-terrorism program. But the federal government countered with its own lawsuit to block that effort, citing the risk of "exceptionally grave harm to national security," according to The New York Times. Vermont's effort to get to the bottom of the phone records issue is similar, although being led by the Department of Public Service with the assistance of the Attorney General's office, O'Brien said. The Public Service Board will take the first step in an investigation into the program requested by the Vermont American Civil Liberties Union this week. O'Brien's Department of Public Service may comment on the ACLU case and is requesting an inquiry into the matter as well. The cases in Vermont, New Jersey and elsewhere will help establish the balance between privacy and measures taken to protect against terrorist attacks, O'Brien said. "One of the best things about this country, going back to its founding, is the protection of individual privacy and liberty. I can't think of a healthier debate for our country to be having," he said. Allen Gilbert, executive director of the Vermont ACLU, said the organization's case in Vermont boils down to discerning if phone companies violated their own privacy agreements by providing access for the government without a warrant. "The ACLU complaint concerns whether Verizon has violated privacy policies it has agreed to," he said. "The federal government's actions in New Jersey show how much it does not want any details of the NSA surveillance program to come out. We think it is important for the details to come out so the legality of the program can be evaluated and so there can be a discussion of the effectiveness of the program." The massive amount of data collected in the program might, in reality, make it more difficult to find evidence of terror plots, Gilbert said. There may be consumer protection rules that also were violated by the program, which may be the focus of the state's inquiry. If pressure is brought to bear on clearing up what happened and whether it was legal it likely will come from states — not from federal officials, O'Brien said. "There is no question there is a difference in perspective at the federal level. Federal regulators are that much more removed from the consumers than we are at the state level," he said. U.S. Attorney David Kirby said he could not comment on what his office may do in the future. No court case has been filed over the Vermont inquiry yet, he said on Friday. As for the phone companies potentially involved, Verizon and AT&T, they have said little about the cases. However, both companies told the state after its initial query that they could provide little information on the matter because it dealt with national security issues. Professor Clifford Fishman of Catholic University Law School told The New York Times that the subpoena's issued in the matter appeared to be an attempt by the democratic administration in New Jersey to embarrass the Bush administration. That is unlikely to be an issue in Vermont, where Gov. James Douglas, a Republican, has been one of the most strident advocates of an inquiry into the surveillance program. ---------------------------------------------------
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