Who is being sued?
The lawsuit is against the United States government itself, a number of government agencies, as well as a number of current and former agency officials who participated in or ordered the illegal surveillance. The claims on behalf of all AT&T customers seek a declaration that the surveillance is illegal and an injunction to stop it, while the individual plaintiffs also seek damages against all the defendants (except for the President, who the courts have ruled has absolute immunity against civil damages claims). The specific defendants are the United States, the National Security Agency, the Department of Justice, President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Cheney’s Chief of Staff David Addington, NSA Director Keith B. Alexander, CIA Director Michael V. Hayden, Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey, former Attorneys General Alberto Gonzales and John D. Ashcroft, Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell and former DNI John Negroponte.
