AT&T spying lawsuit delayed

Judge temporarily halts further review of suit that charges AT&T with illegally letting U.S. monitor phone calls, e-mails.

A federal judge has temporarily halted further review of a lawsuit charging that AT&T illegally allowed the U.S. government to monitor phone and e-mail communications.

Earlier this year, privacy rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation sued the telecom giant , saying the U.S. program eavesdrops on phone calls and reads e-mails of millions of Americans without warrants.

Last month, U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker rejected a request from the head of U.S. intelligence and other officials to dismiss the suit.

But on Tuesday Walker said he would stay the case pending an appeal of his earlier decision by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. He said he was also awaiting another court decision that could bundle similar lawsuits across the nation before his or another court.

"The issues here are serious indeed," he said. "Prudence requires a stay of some duration…I'm thinking about a stay until some time in late September or October."

Walker also said if the case proceeded he was considering asking former CIA director James Woolsey to serve as an expert assisting the court review issues in the case.