From Raw Story
By Nick Juliano

Newly disclosed court papers confirm for the first time that the representatives of the nation’s largest telecommunications companies reached out to the White House for advice on how to lobby Congress over a Bush administration proposal to give them retroactive immunity.

The Bush administration is refusing to disclose the contents of those communications, which include e-mails, letters and notes showing lobbying strategy.

Administration officials claim their refusal is based on national security concerns, but if they were to comply with the Freedom of Information Act request seeking those internal records, it would almost certainly show a deep and unseemly level of coordination between President Bush’s advisers and the telecommunications companies they contracted to carry out his warrantless wiretapping program, critics say.

Newsweek’s Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball reported this week:

The Bush administration is refusing to disclose internal e-mails, letters and notes showing contacts with major telecommunications companies over how to persuade Congress to back a controversial surveillance bill, according to recently disclosed court documents.

Read more Wiretap Lobbying