Rowe seeking dismissal of lawsuit

A Department of Justice lawsuit that seeks to stop a Maine Public Utilities Commission inquiry into Verizon Communications' role in warrantless surveillance programs should be dismissed, according to Maine's attorney general.

In a document filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Bangor, Attorney General Steven Rowe argued that the federal government's lawsuit is barred by the U.S. Constitution, and doesn't belong in court.

Rowe and Assistant Attorney General Linda Conti also denied the government's allegation that a PUC order, requiring a responsible Verizon executive to swear to the truth of assertions the company had previously made, would reveal state secrets and interfere with the government's war on terror.

"We're going to let it speak for itself," said Chuck Dow, Rowe's spokesman. "We hit the ball back. We are just proceeding by the rules."

But a leading proponent of an investigation of Verizon's activities in Maine praised the response for its thoroughness.

"The most important thing is that the state is going to take this fight seriously," said Zach Heiden, staff attorney for the Maine Civil Liberties Union.

"The state isn't simply going to roll over and let the federal government tell it what to do," he said. "It is going to stand up for the state's prerogative to investigate Verizon."

In May, 22 Verizon customers filed a complaint with the Maine PUC, requesting an investigation into whether the communications company had cooperated with the federal government in warrantless eavesdropping and data mining operations that were described in a series of national news stories.

The company filed a response in which it claimed it could not confirm or deny participation in the programs without revealing state secrets.

In its paperwork filed with the PUC, however, Verizon included two anonymous press releases in which it denied participation in any illegal activity.

On Aug. 7, the PUC declined to order an investigation, but issued an order requiring Verizon officials to swear to the truth of the statements. On the day Verizon's response was due at the PUC, the U.S. Department of Justice filed its lawsuit that seeks to block the inquiry.

Maine was the third state to be sued to prevent an investigation into the surveillance programs by public utility regulators, following New Jersey and Missouri. Last week, Connecticut became the fourth state to be sued by the U.S. Department of Justice. The state's Department of Public Utility Control had ordered Verizon to answer questions posed by Connecticut's American Civil Liberties Union chapter.

Verizon was also named as a defendant in the Maine suit, but has not yet filed a response.

Heiden said the MCLU would file a motion on behalf of the 22 Verizon customers, requesting to enter the lawsuit as intervenors.

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