US government says wiretap lawsuit should not proceed

A lawsuit over alleged illegal wiretapping should not proceed because it would force disclosure of state secrets in the U.S. anti-terrorism effort, an attorney for the Justice Department argued in court.

At a hearing in a San Francisco federal court, civil liberties advocates attempted to persuade U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White to allow a lawsuit against the government to proceed. As the proceeding began, Judge White said he was "completely open" about what he might do. A group of AT&T Inc customers filed a proposed class action against the National Security Agency and Bush administration officials in 2008, accusing them of improperly operating a warrantless mass surveillance of U.S. citizens. A separate lawsuit against AT&T failed after the U.S. Congress granted the company immunity from the suit.