"Nacchio's account, which places the NSA proposal at a meeting on Feb. 27, 2001, suggests that the Bush administration was seeking to enlist telecomm firms in programs without court oversight before the terrorist attacks... Sept. 11 ... cited by the government as the main impetus for its warrantless surveillance efforts... In the court filings disclosed this week, Nacchio suggests that Qwest's refusal to take part in that program led the government to cancel a separate, lucrative contract with the NSA in retribution. Former CEO Joseph P. Nacchio, convicted in April of 19 counts of insider trading, said the NSA approached Qwest more than six months before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, according to court documents unsealed in Denver this week. Nacchio was convicted for selling shares of Qwest stock in early 2001... " ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/12/AR2007101202485.html )

The circumstances preceding the Federal tax prosecution are extraordinary.