Were They Lying?

Between yesterday and this morning there was much speculation as to whether the telcos were lying about giving the administration access to all their data. All that speculation has now been put to rest. Via think progress:

Ordinarily, a company that conceals their transactions and activities from the public would violate securities law. But an presidential memorandum signed by the President on May 5 allows the Director of National Intelligence, John Negroponte, to authorize a company to conceal activities related to national security. (See 15 U.S.C. 78m(b)(3)(A))

There is no evidence that this executive order has been used by John Negroponte with respect to the telcos. Of course, if it was used, we wouldn’t know about it.

Trust us. We're the Bush administration. We're acting in your best intersts all the time.