AT&T Whistleblower Speaks Out Against Immunity For Telcoms

If this doesn't finally dispel, and in fact crush, the BIG LIE being perpetuated by the Bush Administration I don't know what will. The lie I speak of is that the warrantless wiretapping program, done without congressional approval or the knowledge of the American people, is in fact, just a way to eavesdrop on the calls of "terrorists". Now, I realize few critically thinking Americans believe this lie, but now we've got even more hard proof that the program, or I should say "illegal program", was actually being used to monitor and eavesdrop on ALL calls being made, inside and outside this country....as well as emails!

Before I get to the two video clips of whistleblower Mark Klein's mind blowing revelations, and pleas to the Congress to NOT give telecom companies immunity, check out the article by the New York Times.

And thankfully too, we have television journalists like Keith Olbermann on the story, as well as the courageous whistle blower Mark Klein, a former AT&T employee with direct knowledge of that "secret room" in San Francisco used by the government and AT&T to monitor our conversations and emails.

First, watch the interview of Klein by Olbermann:

And here's a more detailed description of what's uncovered in the piece from "Crooks and Liars":

If you have any reservations about Congress granting immunity to telecommunications companies like AT&T for illegally spying on Americans, this segment from last night’s Countdown should leave little room for doubt — they have, and continue to betray us and should be held accountable for their crimes.

Likening himself to a character from Orwell’s 1984, retired AT&T technician and whistle blower, Mark Klein, tells Keith Olbermann about his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee during which he pleaded with them not to grant immunity to the telcom companies. Klein contends that his former employer is lying to the American people and that they were not only spying on overseas communications, but virtually ALL domestic internet and phone traffic — and they have been doing it for years.

Olbermann: “In talking to Congress today what did you hear? Did you get the sense that anybody is ready to go after not just the telecom execs, but the government officials who ordered this?”

Klein: “I couldn’t tell, I’m not a politician and they play their cards close to the vest. All I can do is emphasize again, that they’re copying everything, this is a violation of the Constitution, it’s domestic traffic, it’s phone calls as well as e-mail and something should be done to stop it and Congress should not kill the judicial process.”

Update: In yesterday’s New York Times, Senator Russ Feingold points out the obvious: “Telecom companies that cooperate with a government wiretap request are already immune from lawsuits, as long as they get a court order or a certification from the attorney general that the wiretap follows all applicable statutes.”

But that's not all, watch Klein here, in his own words, speak about just how intricate and all encompassing this program really is...to use the terms "Orwellian" or "Big Brother" to describe our present day predicament is no longer just hyperbole.

Klein states, "They're tapping into the entire Internet."

And Talking Points Memo writes:

Earlier today we flagged that Mark Klein, who uncovered a secret surveillance room run by the NSA while employed as a San Francisco-based technician for AT&T, is in Washington to lobby against granting retroactive legal immunity to telecommunications companies. In an interview this afternoon, Klein explained why he traveled all the way from San Francisco to lobby Senators about the issue: if the immunity provision passes, Americans may never know how extensive the surveillance program was -- or how deeply their privacy may have been invaded.

"The president has not presented this truthfully," said Klein, a 62-year old retiree. "He said it was about a few people making calls to the Mideast. But I know this physical equipment. It copies everything. There's no selection of anything, at all -- the splitter copies entire data streams from the internet, phone conversations, e-mail, web-browsing. Everything."

If these revelations don't give the Democrats the impetus to reject giving these telecomm companies immunity I just don't know what will.