Phone companies deny handing over info

[KevinTheOmnivore]

okay, so why did it take these companies almost a week to come out with these statements, and why was it a simultaneous public response???

This smells fishy...

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7003601194

Two Phone Companies Deny USA Today Report

May 17, 2006 12:00 a.m. EST

Denise Royal - All Headline News Staff Writer

New York, NY (AHN) – There must have been a bad connection. Both Verizon and BellSouth are denying last week's USA Today report that they gave the National Security Agency the records of tens of millions of phone calls.


BellSouth was first in saying it didn't turn over bulk calling records. The Atlanta-based company also said today it would only transfer such data if there's a subpoena or court order.


Then Verizon denied it was asked to give, or gave, phone records.


A T and T has not denied giving the government information. The denials leave open the possibility that the NSA directed its requests to long-distance companies, or that call data was collected by other means.

[mburbank]

This makes no sense whatever. I do not understand. If it were categorically untrue, the companies PR departments would have responded immediately. There's some legal blowholing going on here.

I declare shennanigans.