FCC Chief says Won't Probe NSA call Program

FCC CHIEF SAYS WON'T PROBE NSA CALL PROGRAM
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Jeremy Pelofsky]
The Federal Communications Commission will not pursue complaints about a US spy agency's access to millions of telephone records because it cannot obtain classified material, the FCC chairman said in a letter released on Tuesday. Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) had asked Commission to investigate a newspaper report that AT&T, Verizon Communications and BellSouth gave access to and turned over call records to help the National Security Agency fight terrorists. "The classified nature of the NSA's activities makes us unable to investigate the alleged violations," FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, a Republican, said in the May 22 letter released by Rep Markey. AT&T was sued by the privacy rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation for violating customer privacy by turning over telephone data to the government. The Justice Department asked that the case be dismissed, saying it could reveal military and state secrets. The FCC's Martin said the government's arguments in that case would prevent the FCC from conducting an investigation. Such a probe would require access to "highly sensitive classified information" and the "commission has no power to order the production of classified information," Martin said. He said the National Security Act of 1959 prevented the disclosure of the NSA's activities.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyID=2006-05-23T233824Z_01_N23187803_RTRUKOC_0_US-SECURITY-TELECOMS-FCC.xml&...

* NSA secrecy makes investigation impossible, FCC says
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20060524/a_nsa24.art.htm

* Martin: FCC Can't Probe Phone Flap
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6337234?display=Breaking+News

* Martin Won't Probe NSA-Phone Records Link
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6337214.html?display=Breaking+News

* FCC Won't Probe NSA-Phone Ties
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114841352393360937.html?mod=todays_us_page_one

* FCC Refuses to Investigate NSA Program, Predicting Likely Administration Road Blocks
http://markey.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1610&Itemid=141