Appeals Court To Review Domestic Eavesdrop Case

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Appeals Court to Review Eavesdrop Case

By DAVID KRAVETS
Associated Press Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A federal appeals court agreed Tuesday to review a lower court's ruling that kept alive a lawsuit challenging President Bush's domestic eavesdropping program.

The government is appealing U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker's refusal to dismiss the lawsuit even though the Bush administration asserts the case could expose government secrets and put the nation at risk. Walker ruled that warrantless eavesdropping has been so widely reported that there appears to be no danger of spilling secrets.

Now the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, will decide whether Walker was correct to allow the case to proceed to trial. In its order Tuesday, the court did not indicate when it would rule.

The lawsuit, brought by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, challenges President Bush's assertion that he can use his wartime powers to eavesdrop on Americans without a warrant. It accuses AT&T Inc. of illegally making communications on its networks available to the National Security Agency without warrants.

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