In an interesting twist with the ongoing wiretapping scandal the New Jersey attorney general has filed suit against five phone companies. The reason being is to help them determine whether or not these companies provided NJ customer data to the NSA. This is the first legal challenge from a state government. The Bush White House on Wednesday moved to block the state subpoenas. This will be very interesting to see this headbutting play out.
As a matter of national security policy, the dispute represents the latest twist in the controversy over the boundaries of domestic spying and personal privacy. But as a matter of government practice and legal precedent, the dispute is significant because it transforms what had primarily been a fight between the federal government and civil liberties groups into a far knottier one pitting federal authorities against state ones.
This will be interesting especially if the phone companies have been found to have broken the law. This will, if not block by the Bush White House, will set the stage for one hell of a challenge against the US governments doemestic spy program.
[tags]Wiretapping, Domestic Spying, New Jersey, Bush, White House, Privacy[/tags]