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from: Democracy Now

Verizon Admits It Handed over Records 94,000 Times to Gov’t

October 16, 2007

Verizon Communications — the nation’s second largest telecom company — has admitted it turned over the private telephone records of its customers to the government 94,000 times since 2005. Verizon made the admission in a letter to Congressional Democrats.

The Washington Post reports that in about 700 of the cases, Verizon turned over records even when federal investigators did not have a court order. AT&T and Qwest also responded to inquires from Congress but declined to say how often they handed over customer records. All three companies refused to answer most questions about their involvement in the government’s domestic surveillance program.