BellSouth demands retraction

BellSouth has demanded that USAToday retract its story about the NSA gathering phone data from it. Kevin Drum sees this as evidence that BellSouth is telling the truth. Why else, he wonders, would they take such a firm stand?

One alternative explanation occurs to me. The suit is actually being encouraged by the government as a means to force USAToday to reveal its sources, who can then be prosecuted for leaking classified information. Since the government has given the phone companies the right to lie legally (at least in so far as securities law is concerned), BellSouth may well be relying on this as protection from other charges that it is lying. The only problem with this explanation is that I doubt the Bush truth waiver would protect BellSouth employees from perjury charges if they lied under oath before the Court. Perhaps they feel the government will quash any suit using the "State Secrets Act" before it goes that far.

Very mysterious.