Today Senators Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin wrote to the CEOs of AT&T Inc., Sprint Nextel Corp. and Verizon Communications Inc., asking if the telecommunications giants collaborated with the government's domestic spying program, as has been reported in USA Today and many other news outlets.
The letter asserts that "understanding your company's participation in the NSA's domestic surveillance program is critical to congressional oversight efforts," and asks a number of detailed and important questions. We certainly agree and have sued AT&T, alleging that it violated the law and the privacy of its customers by collaborating with the NSA in its massive program to wiretap and data-mine millions of ordinary Americans' communications. While the letter is an important step towards uncovering the truth, we urge the entire Senate to add its support and use its subpoena power to bring the telecommunications companies before the Judiciary Committee.