Judge blocks Verizon hearing (re:domestic surveillance)

[MaineDem]

BANGOR - A dispute involving national security belongs in federal court, not before state utility regulators, a judge ruled Thursday.

U.S. District Court Judge John Woodcock issued a temporary restraining order that prevents the Maine Public Utilities Commission from holding a scheduled hearing this afternoon that would have looked into why Verizon New England Inc. failed to respond to a previous PUC request for information regarding its alleged involvement in a secret domestic surveillance program.

Woodcock also ordered the PUC to refrain from any further investigation into whether the company illegally provided information about Maine telephone customers to the National Security Agency until a federal government lawsuit against the state is resolved.

The decision is a setback for privacy advocates who had hoped to use the PUC to determine if Maine privacy laws were violated by the federal government. The Maine case was a model for similar suits in 24 states, and its progress has been watched closely by privacy advocates around the country.

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/state/070209verizon.html

[mainer]

1. do we know anything about woodcock?

How dare he stop the public from even ASKING QUESTIONS?

[MaineDem]

2. He's a Bush appointment, if that means anything. (nt)