War On Reality Part 64 ; Government Wanted Phone Tapping Before 9/11

The above is a video about the warrantless wiretapping, it's not specifically about this case though.

The National Security Agency asked a telecommunications firm early in 2001 to take part in an illegal phone monitoring plan.

A former Qwest Communications International executive, charged with insider trading, claims the NSA approached his company in the last days of February 2001 to take part in the undercover plan.

When they declined, citing the worry that the scheme was illegal, he alleged later that the company lost contracts directly because it had refused to agree to what the NSA was asking it to do.

Tell The Truthiness ; Why did the NSA need to do this monitoring illegally? Why has the Bush administration maintained that warrantless wiretapping came out of 9/11, when clearly people were anxious to use it before? Who knows more than they are letting on? They probably don't recall though.