Second Phone Company Questions 'USA Today' NSA Story

SECOND PHONE COMPANY QUESTIONS 'USA TODAY' NSA STORY
[SOURCE: Associated Press]
Verizon denied Tuesday that it had received a request for customer phone records from the National Security Agency. "Contrary to the media reports, Verizon was not asked by NSA to provide, nor did Verizon provide, customer phone records," the New York-based phone company said. The denials by Verizon and BellSouth leaves AT&T as the sole company named in the USA Today article that hasn't denied involvement. On Thursday, San Antonio-based AT&T said it had "an obligation to assist law enforcement and other government agencies responsible for protecting the public welfare," but said would only assist as allowed within the law. Asked about the denials, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) noted that telephone company executives will be called before the panel for a hearing. “We'll ask them under oath,” he said. “The thing that concerns me is some (companies) said yes and some said no” when asked to participate. “If the government really thought this was legal and necessary, why let some say yes and some say no? It's either legal and necessary, or it's not.”
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002503697

* Verizon Denies Turning Over Local Phone Data
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/17/washington/17phone.html

* More Phone Firms Fight Claims They Supplied Call Data to NSA
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114779339367054254.html?mod=todays_us_page_one

* Verizon Says It Did Not Give Customer Records to NSA
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/16/AR2006051601749.html

* Verizon says it isn't giving call records to NSA
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20060517/a_nsa17.art.htm