David Kravets writes:
A federal appellate panel on Tuesday blocked a court order requiring disclosure of e-mail between the White House, Justice Department, National Security Agency and Office of the Director of National Intelligence — communications that paved the way for new spy legislation.
The 2008 messages were a precursor to Congress adopting legislation that year to kill litigation accusing the nation’s carriers of funneling Americans’ communications to the National Security Agency without warrants.
The decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reverses a California judge who ordered disclosure of those e-mails and the names of telco company lobbyists who pushed for the legislation. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a civil rights group in San Francisco, sought the e-mail and lobbyist information under a Freedom of Information Act claim.
Read more on Threat Level.