Article I, Section 1, US Constitution:
"All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives."

First Amendment to the US Constitution:
"Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Seventh Amendment to the US Constitution:
"In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved..."

AT&T was once the nation's telecommunications monopoly, and the serious problems inherent in the concentration of market control in the hands of too few people or institutions led to the break-up of the Bell monopoly and the regulation of telecoms, with the intent of encouraging competition and achieving the goal of forcing providers to serve the customers first.

Now, in the ongoing controversy over the NSA's warrantless wiretapping program, a group of citizens have filed a lawsuit alleging that the telecommunications giant has violated federal law by assisting the government in spying on innocent Americans without any court authorization.

The suit puts new pressures on government officials involved in the wiretapping program, including the president himself, to find legal justification for their actions. That legal justification would be necessary for AT&T to be able to defend its position in taking deliberate action to collaborate in the spying program.

The complaint's preliminary statement alleges that "the government did not act—and is not acting—alone. The government requires the collaboration of major telecommunications companies to implement its unprecedented and illegal domestic spying program."

It goes on to specifically accuse AT&T of having "opened its key telecommunications facilities and databases to direct access by the NSA and/or other government agencies, intercepting and disclosing to the government the contents of its customers’ communications as well as detailed communications records about millions of its customers, including Plaintiffs and class members."

The class action suit will be a test of the federal courts' resolve in uncovering the truth about extrajudicial wiretapping and spying operations, but it will also be a potential thorn in the side of government efforts to paint the NSA wiretaps as legal and justifiable. At present, the government's legal position has been that all information related to these operations is a military and state secret related to national security. [s]

• EFF: "EFF's Class-Action Lawsuit Against AT&T for Collaboration with Illegal Domestic Spying Program"
• USDC, Northern CA [PDF]: "CLASS ACTION: COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES, DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF: DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL"

BACKGROUND:
JUSTICE DEPT. ISSUES REPORT DEFENDING WARRANTLESS WIRETAPS
23 January 2006

The US Department of Justice, under Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who advised Pres. Bush as White House Counsel, during the planning of the extrajudicial wiretaps, has issued a 42-page report that claims authorization for the wiretaps was implicit in the preliminary "Authorization for the Use of Military Force" (AUMF), passed after the attacks of 11 September 2001. [Full Story]

FMR VP AL GORE GIVES 'TRANS-PARTISAN' SPEECH ON DANGERS OF EXTRA-CONSTITUTIONAL ABUSES
17 January 2006

Former US Vice President Al Gore gave what is being described as an historic non-partisan speech, calling for a passionate nationwide movement to defend and uphold the Constitution of the United States. Gore gave the speech in a non-partisan context, speaking at the Daughters of the American Revolution hall, with the express support and participation of Representative Bob Barr, Republican of Georgia. [Full Story]