[dirtboy]

So it seems that customers of telephone services are aware that their telephone usage (not conversations) may be subpoenaed by the government for analysis.

Funny, the section you bolded:

Verizon must disclose information, as necessary, to comply with court orders or subpoenas.

Mentions subpeonas. There was no subpeona for these records.

So, once again, there was no probable cause for obtaining the records in question. Which means the government should not have them.

[Political Junkie Too]

From the thread Text of President Bush remarks on NSA Telephone Traffic Analysis:

First, our international activities strictly target al Qaeda and their known affiliates. Al Qaeda is our enemy, and we want to know their plans. Second, the government does not listen to domestic phone calls without court approval. Third, the intelligence activities I authorized are lawful and have been briefed to appropriate members of Congress, both Republican and Democrat. Fourth, the privacy of ordinary Americans is fiercely protected in all our activities.

With the mention of court approval, it is hard to tell from this statement whether that applies only to the interception of al Qaeda phone calls or the analysis of phone traffic too. However, it does say that it was done with the awareness of Congress.

-PJ