US confirms key role of telecom firms in wiretapping

John "Mike" McConnell, director of national intelligence

The information is interesting enough, but it isn't something we needed to be told and its not exactly why I'm posting this.

The Bush administration has confirmed for the first time that American telecommunications companies played a crucial role in the National Security Agency's domestic eavesdropping program after asserting for more than a year that any role played by the companies was a state secret.

The acknowledgement was made in an unusual interview that Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence, conducted with The El Paso Times last week in which he disclosed details on classified intelligence issues that the administration has long insisted would harm national security if discussed publicly. [emphasis mine]

So, it comes down to: 1. This information never has been a state secret or 2. The Bush administration will be bringing McConnell up on treason charges. These two things are definitely mutually exclusive.

And, if it comes down to number one, what other "state secrets" aren't state secrets?

Technically there is a third position. The administration can just ignore the whole incident and leave McConnell alone. This is, of course, what I'm expecting.

Via The Boston Globe.