At the risk of drawing the federal government into the fray, state
regulators are going ahead with a probe to find out if phone companies illegally gave the National Security Agency access to Vermonters’ phone records.
Governor Jim Douglas, The state Department of Public Service, and the Vermont chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union are teaming up with phone company customers to find out if Verizon and AT&T violated state law and Vermont’s Consumer Bill of Rights by providing the access.
Richard Saudek is a Montpelier-based attorney who’s representing the Vermont ACLU in the case. He spoke with Mitch Wertlieb about the risks of this move.