Qwest's Refusal of N.S.A. Query Is Explained - New York Times

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/12/washington/12cnd-phone.html? 
hp&ex=1147492800&en=eb85158452eae01a&ei=5094&partner=homepage

May 12, 2006

Qwest's Refusal of N.S.A. Query Is Explained

By JOHN O'NEIL and ERIC LICHTBLAU
WASHINGTON, May 12 — The telecommunications company Qwest turned down  
requests by the National Security Agency for private telephone  
records because it concluded that doing so would violate federal  
privacy laws, a lawyer for the telephone company's former chief  
executive said today.

In a statement released this morning, the lawyer said that the former  
chief executive, Joseph N. Nacchio, made the decision after asking  
whether "a warrant or other legal process had been secured in support  
of that request."

Mr. Nacchio learned that no warrant had been granted and that there  
was a "disinclination on the part of the authorities to use any legal  
process," said the lawyer, Herbert J. Stern. As a result, the  
statement said, Mr. Nacchio concluded that "the requests violated the  
privacy requirements of the Telecommunications Act."

A Qwest spokesman, Robert Toevs, declined to discuss anything to do  
with security issues or the statement by Mr. Nacchio's lawyer.

Qwest was the only phone company to turn down requests from the  
security agency for phone records as part of a program to compile a  
vast database of numbers and other information on virtually all  
domestic calls. The program's scope was first described in an article  
published on Thursday by USA Today that led to an outpouring of  
demands for information from Congressional Republicans and Democrats.  
The article said that AT&T, BellSouth and Verizon had agreed to  
provide the information to the security agency.

The lawyer's statement came as Gen. Michael V. Hayden, who was the  
head of the National Security Agency at the time the program began,  
continued to seek support today for his nomination as C.I.A. director  
in meetings with senators on Capitol Hill.

Spea..

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