On November 6, 1992, the Secret Service shut down a 2600 Meeting in what has proven to be an ill-fated and embarrassing move for them. What they failed to take into account was how quickly word of this action would spread within the hacker community and, eventually, into the mainstream. The Secret Service was not prepared for this and apparently never expected their role in the operation to be revealed. (Local security at the Pentagon City Mall in Washington, DC had been instructed by the Secret Service to shut down the meeting and take names and addresses. What they hadn't counted on was the security chief telling a reporter that his orders came from the Secret Service.)

Immediately after the incident, Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) took on the case on behalf of the Washington DC 2600 Meeting. They have been trying to get information out of the Secret Service ever since.

  • 2600 Editorial
  • Letter to the Washington Post.
  • CPSR/EPIC summary of events.
  • Some of the early reports from C.U.D.
  • The Secret Service response to the initial F.O.I.A. request.
  • The CPSR sues the Secret Service to get information.
  • THe CPSR issues a press release on the lawsuit.
  • Special Agent William F. Burch of the Secret Service submits an affidavit on the agency's involvement in the meeting's shutdown.
  • CPSR files a legal memorandum in May 1993 that opposes the Secret Service's motion to dismiss the case.
  • In July 1994, The Secret Service is ordered to release documents concerning the incident.
  • EPIC files a brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals.
  • An Appellate Decision is reached on January 2, 1996 which again tells the Secret Service they cannot withhold information.