AP reports:A federal panel of judges has consolidated 17 lawsuits throughout the United States filed against telephone companies accused of assisting the Bush administration to monitor Americans' communications without warrants.
The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation transferred the cases to U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, who last month declined to dismiss one of the lawsuits brought against the federal government and AT&T Inc., according to an order released Thursday.
The consolidated lawsuits also target Verizon Communications Inc., BellSouth Corp. and their affiliates. The panel ruled 26 other lawsuits with similar allegations also may be moved to Walker, who took the bench in 1990 after being nominated by the first President Bush.
Last month, Walker rejected government assertions that the AT&T case had to be dropped because it could expose state secrets and jeopardize the war on terror.
More articles by Brian Zick
FBI Director Mueller Contradicts Gonzales
Brian Zick
Democrats Request Special Counsel Be Appointed to Investigate Perjury Charges Against Gonzales
Brian Zick
Rove and Deputy Jennings Subpoenaed by Senate Judiciary Committee
Brian Zick
Similar articles
FeatureLabor Organizer of the Year
Building Bridges and Erasing Jail Debt: Katherine Passley
The winner of our Labor Organizer of the Year Award co-runs a member-led worker center in Miami for people with criminal records and their families — the first organization of its kind in the country.
Kim Kelly
LaborFeatureRural America
Southern Workers Prepare For An Uphill Battle Under Trump
For too long, the labor movement ignored the South. Today, Southern workers are taking on entrenched racism, right-to-work laws and the incoming Trump administration as they organize for their rights.
Stephen Franklin
ViewpointCulture
Big Back Panic: Fatphobia's Rebrand
Anti-fatness is back with a vengeance so aggressive it puts 1990s “heroin chic” to shame.
Tee Noir
