Was Qwest Punished For Not Spying?
Court Papers Suggest Convicted Exec’s Rejection Of Classified Project Led To Loss Of Gov’t Business
-
Photo
Joe Nacchio, the former head of Qwest Communications, arrives at the federal courthouse in Denver prior to sentencing on July 27, 2007. According to court documents, he was not allowed to discuss during trial evidence of a classified government program he says was key to a loss of government contracts. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
-
Interactive
Risky Business
Corporate America is finding itself in some sticky predicaments lately. Here are some dubious examples.
Details of the government's request were redacted in the documents released Wednesday. But last year, Nacchio's attorney Herbert Stern said the government asked for access to Qwest customers' phone records in 2001, with neither a warrant nor approval from a special court established to handle surveillance matters.
While AT&T Corp., Verizon Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp. complied, Qwest refused after deciding the request violated privacy law, Stern has said.
In July 2001, the National Security Agency named other companies as recipients of a contract that Nacchio believed Qwest would get, the court documents said.
Nacchio was convicted last spring on 19 counts of insider trading. He was accused of selling $52 million in stock in 2001 based on nonpublic information that Qwest Communications International Inc. was having trouble meeting its financial targets.
Nacchio's lawyers contended he had classified information that led him to believe Qwest would win lucrative government contracts that would have bolstered Qwest's revenue. However, that argument was not mentioned at trial.
Court documents released Wednesday show Nacchio's lawyers had wanted to present those arguments, but alongside his refusal of the government request.
According to The Rocky Mountain News, Nacchio planned to demonstrate at trial that he had a meeting on Feb. 27, 2001, at the National Security Agency’s headquarters at Fort Meade, Md., to discuss a $100 million project. According to the documents, another topic also was discussed at that meeting, one with which Nacchio refused to comply.
The topic itself is redacted each time it appears in the hundreds of pages of documents, but there is mention of Nacchio believing the request was both inappropriate and illegal, and repeatedly refusing to go along with it.
U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham would not allow Nacchio to present an argument on retaliation.
Nacchio's lawyers argued in the court documents that Nacchio couldn't fully explain what happened with the government contracts without presenting the retaliation argument.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear Nacchio's appeal Dec. 18.
Nacchio is free pending his appeal.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.



However, it should come as no surprise to anyone that this Government sought to punish those who would not "voluntarily" cooperate with their illegal spying program.
I am just shocked that such things would happen. Not.
**********************
You know, that reminds me, I am going to cancel my cell phone through Verizon. I am disgusted that these companies caved and gave despot Bush what he wanted illegally. Besides Qwest, are there other companies that resisted the White House dictators?
Yes, the Great Emperor is forever vigilant, and will not rest until all those enemies of the USSA are dealt with. Perhaps it is because he is so vigilant watching everyone, that he does not have time to find Osama Bin Laden, but that is another story.
ADOLPH HITLER, JOSEF STALIN, AND JOE MC CARTHY WOULD BE PROUD!!!
SIG HEIL, BUSH!!!!
Slowly but Surely - Being Uncovered ! !
Lets not Forget - Those who have Supported them and Protected them -
The Justice Department and - The FBI
Lastdance
Posted by kansas1946 at 09:07 PM : Oct 12, 2007
-------
They caved because of MONEY- 100''s of MILLIONS of dollars were paid to these GOP-tied corporations so that they would ignore the liberties of Americans. Now Bush wants to give them "cover" of retroactive immunity for their illegal acts. But Bush says everything they do is legal.... so why the retroactive immunity for these companies? Anyone with at least half brain gets it.... Bush/NaziNeoCons'' supporters do not qualify. ROFLMAO
This is America.
What the F-k happened to America, the Beautiful? It has been destroyed from within by the neocons, the repugnant GOP. God has ALREADY condemned the evil repugnant ones to H3ll for eternity. Why don''t you just do us all a favor and get off our planet, NOW!?
Did you know Bush gave Negroponte the authority at NSA to allow companies to cheat in their bookkeeping? If you go cooperate with NSA, you are allowed to violate General Accounting principles and SEC regulations.
Did anyone else feel a twinge of anger when Bush insisted last week that phone companies be given retroactive immunity for helping NSA spy on Americans?
They were gunning for violation of our rights before they had a reason...they used 9/11 as power grabbing time and an excuse.
I think there is going to be a steady stream of other interesting stories of how Bush & Co tried to destroy America nad attack its citizens.
Cheney and Bush deliberately LIED us into the Iraq disaster. Maybe they thought the Iraqi''s would roll-over and let our corporations steal their Oil. Most likely they knew there would be resistance, but figured not matter what the death and destruction, it would be worth $21 TRILLION in IRaqi Oil reserves.
Americans generally still do not understand what is happening to our nation. Most are tuned out on Reality TV. Many fell victims of the scare tactics. Remember the color-coded terror alerts? How about ''Fight them over there so we don;t have to fight them here''-- which is ludicrous. Others welcome the safe feeling of having an authoritarian "bring ''em on" War President. A lot like Germany in he early thirties.
Google "RebuildingAmericasDefenses" and read the NeoCon PNAC papers in their own words.
Posted by trillion1
No different than everyone running around yelling ''the world is warming...the world is warming'' because Gore says so. People have been trying for decades to get industries on board to make energy effecient machines..cars, air conditioners, lawn mowers...but not until Gore comes out with the ''global doomsday forcast'' do the jetsetters and politicians with their eye on the ball jump on board with the media w..h..o..r..e..s not far behind. It took 30 years for auto makers to get serious about getting us off the oil t..i..t in the middle east because no one wanted drilling or refineries going up any where near them. Suddenly coal and oil sources are out of step with Gore''s theology. There are glaring errors in his ''foundations for failure'' but no one seems capable of creating a genuine and independent thought on their own...Gore said it so it must be true...why would he get the Nobel Peace Prize if he wasn''t right! He''s the flavor of the day and eventually enough science will be applied to his ''discoveries'' and enough serious investigative and impartial media interest will prevail to prove Gore is nothing more than a paper tiger alarmist with political asperations at the core. Being respectful of the planet didn''t originate with Gore.
Europe and asia will not stand to have their communications compromised, as this info becomes available for anything from blackmail to insider trading. And, communication hubs will shift out of the U.S.
We must get the criminal Bush administration out of office as soon as possible...
It was nice to read that article. But I don''t think spying is anything new at all. Nor is it one-sided.
It was nice to read that article. But I don''''t think spying is anything new at all. Nor is it one-sided.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by hypnotoad72 at 06:11 PM : Oct 13, 2007
+ report abuse
Really? Well I was there when FISA was passed and guess what? It was DEMOCRATS who passed it. You are not just WRONG you are DEAD Wrong. Nixon was spying one anyone and everyone, without a court or anything else. So the law was passed, the law that the Little Nazi has ignored. Sieg Heil Bush!
Posted by likeitis5050 at 03:09 PM : Oct 13, 2007
+ report abuse
Now now. Let''s not start a debate about global warning here. I know it''s rough on you Nazi''s and I know you have completely run out of excuses and blame but you have to learn to live with it. You clowns can''t govern that is true but that isn''t new, it''s always been that way. So accept it, take your swastika and crawl back under that rock. You can crawl out again in a couple of generations when, yet again, America has forgotten just how bad you really are. Sieg Heil Y''all.
Posted by MCVet at 03:48 PM : Oct 13, 2007
GHEEEZ, what else is going to come out. See what they do when you don''t follow this fascist regime.Why can''t we file a class action against Bell South who is now AT&T for giving out private information without our permission?
Slowly but Surely - Being Uncovered ! !
Lets not Forget - Those who have Supported them and Protected them -
The Justice Department and - The FBI
Lastdance
Exactly how these fascists operate.
If you are not willing to wipe your @ss with the constitution for their benefit, they''ll punish you.
and ya know, i''m tired of the mind-reading satellites
and the thought police.
SearingTruth
A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com
The Sept. 11 attacks have been cited by the government as the main reason for its warrantless surveillance efforts. Yet, here it seems that the government was trying to set up a surveillance program 7 months before the terrorist attacks on 9/11. Why?
The government has every right to deny government contract to those who do not play ball.
What the heck does that have to do with this guy breaking the law. One does not beget the other. Put the guy away for the rest of his life...
Qwest would have a very good chance of getting government contracts if Sprint, and the rest of the big communication companies had denied the governments request...but they went for the money and said skew you customers.
Everybody plays politics and no one wins.
(But three rights make a left).
Posted by fiteit1 at 10:32 PM : Oct 13, 2007
Good one !!!!! LOL
-
by toldyouso21
October 15, 2007 7:00 AM PDT
- Boy, one day we will look back on these Bush years...and just like the Germans did after WWII, shake our heads and wonder--what in the hell came over us--to allow all that has happened to happen?
-
Reply to this comment
-
See all 44 Comments