Do you remember what the Bush administration said when it came out that they were running a massive warrantless wiretapping program that spied on American citizens? Do you remember what they said when it came to light that they refused to get warrants for their spying program, even though they were required to by law? Even though the FISA court is extremely permissive–they have on turned down only a handful of warrant requests in its 30-year existence, and they let the government get a warrant up to three days after they’ve already started the wiretap?

They told us it was necessary for our safety. They said that they had to break federal laws and violate our Constitutional rights to fight terrorism, and that it was the only way to fight terrorism. They said the laws were outdated and inadequate (even though they never bothered to just go to Congress and ask them to change the laws).

And do you remember what the telecommunications companies said when it was revealed that they were complying with the federal government’s demands? Do you remember what they said when they gave the Bush administration access to confidential customer information, even though the government was breaking the law by not having a warrant?

They told us that they had to comply with the federal government. They said that they had no choice; that they couldn’t have said no. The telecomm companies told us they were doing their duty to keep America safe.

Well, turns out all of that was a lie. Think Progress brings us this story:

The AP reports that telephone companies “cut off FBI wiretaps used to eavesdrop on suspected criminals because of the bureau’s repeated failures to pay phone bills on time,” according to Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine. The “FBI’s lax oversight of money used in undercover investigations” resulted in “telecommunications carriers actually disconnecting phone lines established to deliver surveillance results to the FBI, resulting in lost evidence.”

So, the Bush administration’s domestic spying program was so important, so crucial to our safety that the agencies conducting the surveillance couldn’t even be bothered to pay their bills on time in order to keep the surveillance going.

And the telecommunications companies were so unable and unwilling to stand up to the federal government that they shut down significant portions of the program when the government didn’t pay up. Apparently, our laws and our Constitutional rights aren’t nearly as important to them as money.

Then again, this just proves what critics of the domestic spying program have been saying all along–that the program wasn’t important, nor did it make America safer. If it did, you think the FBI would have paid attention and paied their bills to keep their wiretaps active.

It shows that the telecom companies that went along with the Bush administration were perfectly able to stand up to the federal government and tell them “no,” had they so chosen. In fact, they did just that when it was money–and not their customer’s rights–on the line.

George W. Bush’s domestic spying program was a failed endeavor that didn’t result in a single terrorism-related conviction throughout it’s entire history. The Bush administration repeatedly and knowingly broke the law behind closed doors; when they were exposed, they turned the issue into a political bludgeon with which to attack Democrats as weak on terrorism.

So, what was the importance of the President’s domestic spying program? Apparently–besides government expansion and corporate greed–there wasn’t any at all.