AT&T Spying Case Put on Hold

The Electronic Frontier Foundation's lawsuit against AT&T for its alleged role in turning over customer call data to the NSA has been put on hold until late September or October. The move by U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn Walker comes less than a month after he rejected the U.S. government's request for dismissal on grounds that the case involves state secrets.

Walker says he would stay the case until an appeal of that ruling was completed by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Also mentioned in the reasoning was another court decision that could bundle similar lawsuits against AT&T. Acknowledging that he was dealing with "serious issues," Walker said he was considering bringing on former CIA director James Woolsey to assist the court as an expert in such matters.