SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The federal government is urging an appeals court to dismiss a lawsuit challenging President Bush’s domestic eavesdropping program, warning that disclosure of such activities could compromise national security.

“The suit’s very subject matter - including the relationship, if any, between AT&T and the government in connection with the secret intelligence activities alleged by plaintiffs - is a state secret,” the Justice Department argued in court papers.

The documents were filed late Friday and released Monday by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which brought the suit. It accuses AT&T Inc. of illegally making communications on its networks available to the National Security Agency without warrants, and challenges Bush’s assertion that he could use his wartime powers to eavesdrop on Americans without a warrant.

The NSA had conducted the surveillance without a court warrant until January, when the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court began overseeing the program.

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