The Bush administration has acknowledged for the first time that telecommunications companies collaborated with the government’s warrantless domestic surveillance program. The Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell made the admission in an interview with the El Paso Times. The Washington Post reports McConnell’s statement could help plaintiffs in lawsuits against AT&T, Verizon, MCI and other telecoms. Until now the government has argued that the cases should be thrown out on the grounds that the subject matter is a state secret. During the same interview, McConnell urged Congress to retroactively provide immunity to telecom companies that participated in the surveillance program.