Attorney General Reno's Weekly Press Conference August 17

WEEKLY MEDIA BRIEFING WITH ATTORNEY GENERAL JANET RENO
THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, WASHINGTON, D.C.
9:29 A.M. EDT THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 2000


Q: Ms. Reno, you've been on the lookout for a university or similar
institution to independently evaluate the Carnivore electronic
intercept system. Have you chosen a university, or if you haven't, how
far along in that process --


ATTY. GEN. RENO: I have not been presented with a recommendation yet.


Q: Ms. Reno, what's the feeling here about the court of appeals ruling
two days ago on the CALEA issue? And number one, what is your feeling
about the ruling in terms of CALEA? And secondly, what do your folks
here think about the effect of the ruling on systems like Carnivore?


ATTY. GEN. RENO: We are reviewing the decision, and I have not yet had
a chance to see it, because I just returned late last night from the
Dominican Republic for the inauguration of the new President, Mejia.
As I understand it, we believe that we can demonstrate that these
capabilities should be included in a revised FCC order and that the
concerns of the court can be addressed. But I want to take time to
today to see just exactly where we're at.


Q: Steve Colgate has been telling everybody, "Oh, well, this wasn't a
terrible loss. This just means that our paper was graded
'incomplete.'" Why did you turn in an incomplete paper?


ATTY. GEN. RENO: I heard his expression, and I didn't quite understand
it, so I think I'll have to find out today what he was meaning.


Q: How exactly is it possible to meet the burdens of the court of
appeals standard while --


ATTY. GEN. RENO: As I indicated, I have not yet read the opinion, and
I want to take time today to understand exactly where we're at.


Q: With regards to Carnivore, given the concerns that this appeals
court ruling has for the information obtained via Carnivore, wouldn't
it make sense to put it on hold pending the independent inquiry,
rather than continue to deploy it?


ATTY. GEN. RENO: What I'd like to do is to see exactly where we are
today, talk with people who have been involved in the litigation, and
see just what should be done.


Q: Ms. Reno, the ruling upheld two provisions, one on antenna towers,
the location of antenna towers, and the other on packet mode
information.


The packet mode seems to be the most relevant to Carnivore. Is it
possible that you look at this ruling as a victory for Carnivore
rather than a defeat?


ATTY. GEN. RENO: Well, again, I'm not going to jump to conclusions.
Let me just see exactly where we're at first.


Q: Also on Carnivore, on the Freedom of Information Act issue -- and I
know that the department is litigating this, but why would the
department release anything under the Freedom of Information Act,
given that this is an investigative tool? Wouldn't it be covered under
the exclusion for investigative material?


ATTY. GEN. RENO: Now, you know that I've tried to be as open as
possible. And if investigative materials are not in any way impaired,
then we try to be, I think, open. But it's done according to FOIA, and
we want to do it right.


Q: According to the filing you made, or your department made in court,
you say you'll release information within 45 days, and then each
subsequent 45 days, you'll release information. Is there any end to
this process, by which time you will release all information except --


ATTY. GEN. RENO:  I hope so.



Q:  When do you expect that that would be?



ATTY. GEN. RENO: There are some 3,000 pages that we have got to go
through, and we want to do it as expeditiously as possible, but we
want to do it properly.


Q: Ms. Reno, since there is now a delay in the CALEA standard because
of the court decision, will you give telecom companies more time to
comply? They have right now, I think -- they're supposed to comply
within a year, and with the -- supposedly the punch list. But now the
punch list has been questioned.


ATTY. GEN. RENO: Here is what I want to do today, is to look at the
opinion, talk with the people involved, and make appropriate
decisions.



(end transcript)