I guess what I’m saying is regardless of the legalities of impersonating phone company employees, maybe O’Keefe and friends simply wanted to appear to be bugging the phones. For what reason, I’ve no idea but I think there’s way more to this than meets the eye.
Now, that is likely. I would be surprised beyond all description if they were actually trying to bug - or even really interfere with - the Senator's phone system. I can't believe they'd be that stupid. But, that doesn't mean that whatever they did, no matter how well-intentioned, wasn't violating the letter of the law.
This really will come down to how motivated the US Attorney is, and how pissed Landrieu is. If she wants to make this an issue, look out. It is VERY difficult to escape the fangs of a prosecutor with the taste for your blood - just ask Scooter Libbey.