Lawyers Will Subpoena Bush White House in Phone Company Spying Case
    US Newswire

    Tuesday 29 August 2006

    WHAT: Press Conference Releasing White House Subpoena

    WHERE: Verizon Headquarters, 140 West St., New York (at Vesey Street, across from the World Trade Center site)

    WHEN: Tuesday, Aug. 29 at 4:30 p.m.

    WHO: Bruce Afran and Carl Mayer, attorneys for hundreds of plaintiffs in litigation against the Bush Administration and the phone companies

    DETAILS: Two lawyers who brought the first lawsuit against the Bush Administration, Verizon and AT&T for illegally examining the phone records of virtually every American citizen will announce today that they are serving subpoenas on the Bush White House and on Verizon.

    "We are subpoenaing the White House because we have developed evidence that the Bush Administration began unlawful efforts to obtain Americans' private phone records prior to 9/11/01 and the White House must disclose documents relevant to that claim," said Afran. "We believe that Verizon had extensive involvement in illegally disclosing the records of millions of Americans."

    "We are going to determine with these subpoenas whether the Bush administration has unlawfully targeted journalists, peace activists, libertarians, members of congress or generated an 'enemies list' by creating the most massive domestic spying operation in America's history," said Mayer.

    The subpoenas come on the heels of two federal court decisions that were major blows to the Bush Administration warrantless spying program.

    Earlier this month, federal judge Anna Diggs Taylor ruled the entire program unconstitutional and illegal; another federal judge in San Francisco rejected the Bush Administration's attempt to dismiss these lawsuits by claiming they breach national security.