The National Security Agency has responded to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network by saying it will "continue to neither confirm nor deny the existence or non-existence" of information obtained via surveillance of gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender organizations, PageOneQ has learned.

The agency responded to attorneys for sldn, via a three page letter which may be seen here.

Steve Ralls, Communications Director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network told PageOneQ that, "This is an example of the continued stonewalling sldn has encouterd throughout our work to find out what was truly happening. This a dissapointing response and it destroys any hope of a continued transparency of government and that should offend most Americans.

“2006 is the new 1984,” SLDN executive director C. Dixon Osburn said in a statement obtained by PageOneQ, “The federal government’s Orwellian surveillance programs of ordinary, law-abiding citizens violates our right to privacy under current law. The government’s refusal to disclose its surveillance programs erodes the public trust."

SLDN's entire statement follows:

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Washington, DC – In a June 5 letter to counsel for Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), the National Security Agency (NSA) says it will “neither confirm nor deny the existence or non-existence” of information that may have been obtained through agency surveillance of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. SLDN sought information, through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, after media reports indicated the agency may have been monitoring groups and individuals opposed to the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban on lesbian, gay and bisexual personnel. The June 5 letter was sent in response to SLDN’s appeal of NSA’s refusal to release any information related to that surveillance. The appeal was filed on SLDN’s behalf by the law firm of Proskauer Rose LLP.

“2006 is the new 1984,” said SLDN executive director C. Dixon Osburn. “The federal government’s Orwellian surveillance programs of ordinary, law-abiding citizens violates our right to privacy under current law. The government’s refusal to disclose its surveillance programs erodes the public trust.”

The NSA letter, from William B. Black, Jr., notes that “any substantive response to [the original] request would tend to confirm or deny specific activities.” SLDN has up to five years to appeal the NSA’s response.

In January, the Department of Defense acknowledged that it had “inappropriately” conducted surveillance on student protestors at several universities. The Pentagon has also indicated it has additional surveillance materials, in the form of government TALON reports, which will be released at a later date. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has said the surveillance program is “no big deal.”

A copy of the NSA letter, along with other materials related to SLDN’s FOIA request and lawsuit, is available online at www.sldn.org.