Washington, D.C. - On Wednesday, November 7, at 10:30am, telecommunications technician and AT&T whistleblower Mark Klein will speak out at a press conference on Capitol Hill, explaining why he is asking lawmakers to reject immunity for telecoms who assisted the Bush administration's spying on millions of Americans.
Klein witnessed first-hand the technology AT&T built to assist the government's domestic warrantless wiretapping program at AT&T's main switching facility in San Francisco. As part of his job at AT&T, Klein connected high-speed fiber optic cables to sophisticated equipment that intercepted communications from AT&T customers and then copied and routed every single one to a room controlled by the National Security Agency (NSA). Klein has provided evidence for the Electronic Frontier Foundation's (EFF's) class-action lawsuit against AT&T for its role in the illegal spying.
"My job required me to enable the physical connections between AT&T customers' Internet communications and the NSA's illegal, wholesale copying machine for domestic emails, Internet phone conversations, web surfing and all other Internet traffic. I have first-hand knowledge of the clandestine collaboration between one giant telecommunications company, AT&T, and the National Security Agency to facilitate the most comprehensive illegal domestic spying program in history," said Klein.
Also speaking at the event Wednesday is network systems and infrastructure expert Brian Reid, who will explain how the infrastructure that Mr. Klein helped install likely fits into and facilitates the massive warrantless surveillance program.
WHO:
Mark Klein, former AT&T communications technician and domestic spying program whistleblower
Brian Reid, network systems and infrastructure expert
Cindy Cohn, Legal Director, Electronic Frontier Foundation
Kevin Bankston, Staff Attorney, Electronic Frontier Foundation
WHAT:
Press conference/Q & A to urge the Senate to reject blanket retroactive immunity for unlawfully aiding illegal domestic NSA spying.
WHERE:
Senate Banking Committee Hearing Room, Dirksen 538
WHEN:
10:30am, Wednesday, November 7th, 2007
Contacts:
Trevor FitzGibbon
Fenton Communications
trevor@fenton.com
Alex Howe
Fenton Communications
alex@fenton.com
