10.14.07
It Just Gets Worse And Worse…
Former CEO Says U.S. Punished Phone Firm
There’s not one, but two reasons for outrage here:
1) The NSA punishing Qwest for not acceding to the warrantless wiretapping? Really?
2) The warrantless wiretapping that started a month after Bush took office, rather than in the “post-9/11″ world? Really?
Now, to be fair, this story is coming out as part of Nacchio’s defense in his insider trading trial, so it wouldn’t be unreasonable to apply a generous helping of salt to these claims. However, the documentary evidence seems to suggest that he’s not lying - and the government’s zeal in resisting declassification of documents that could definitively prove the point isn’t helping the NSA’s case.