Justice Dept. Agrees to Release Secret Wiretap Records

Facing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, the U.S. Department of Justice has conceded that it could by March 3, begin releasing the internal memos relied on by the White House in justifying and authorizing the controversial “warrantless” wiretap program conducted by the National Security Agency.

The consolidated lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Electronic Privacy Information Center and the National Security Archive, demands the Justice Department to provide “immediate disclosure of the internal legal justifications for the surveillance program.”

“There are real secrets and convenient secrets,” said National Security Archives’ General Counsel Meredith Fuchs, in this press release. “It may be convenient for the NSA to run this program in secret, but that policy debate, and consideration of the legality of the program, should be open.”

Also See:
Bush Defends Secret Wiretap Program
Bush Promises More Secret Wiretaps
Constitutional Defense of the Wiretaps