Posted on 12/17/2007 5:08:20 PM PST by xcamel
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush's demand for immunity for telephone companies that participated in his warrantless domestic spying program won an initial victory on Monday in the U.S. Senate.
On a vote of 76-10, far more than the 60 needed, the Democratic-led Senate cleared a procedural hurdle and began considering a bill to increase congressional and judicial oversight of electronic surveillance of suspected terrorists.
It includes a provision to grant retroactive immunity to any telecommunications company that took part in Bush's spying program -- surveillance without court warrants of e-mails and telephone calls of people in the United States -- begun shortly after the September 11 attacks.
Nearly 40 lawsuits have been filed accusing AT&T, Verizon and Sprint Nextel Corp. of violating U.S. privacy rights.
Backers of immunity, who include some Democrats as well many of Bush's fellow Republicans, contend companies should be thanked, not punished, for helping defend the United States.
But civil liberties advocates and a number of Democratic lawmakers argue the courts should determine if any company violated privacy rights of law-abiding Americans.
Democrats vow to offer amendments in coming days to remove the immunity provision while backing a number of proposed new civil-liberty safeguards that enjoy broad support.
Sixty votes will likely be needed to prevail on any such immunity amendment in the 100-member Senate. "It's going to be an uphill battle," a Democratic aide said.
Sen. Chris Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, interrupted his long-shot presidential campaign to return to Washington to help lead the charge against immunity. "For the last six years, our largest telecommunication companies have been spying on their own American customers," Dodd said.
"That decision betrayed million of customers' trust," Dodd added. "But was it illegal? I don't know. And if this bill passes in its current form, we will never know."
The White House said in a statement, "Providing liability protection to these companies is a just result" and warned that allowing litigation "risks the disclosure of highly classified information regarding intelligence sources and methods."
The House of Representatives last month defied Bush and refused to shield phone companies from lawsuits. Both chambers would have to agree to immunity before it could be granted.
The 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) requires the government receive the approval of a secret FISA court to conduct surveillance in the United States of suspected foreign enemy targets.
But shortly after the September 11 attacks, Bush authorized warrantless surveillance of communications between people in the United States and others overseas if one of the parties had suspected ties to terrorists.
Critics charged that Bush violated FISA, but he argued he had the war-time powers to do so. In January, Bush put the program under FISA's authority. Terms remain secret.
In August, Congress bowed to Bush's demands and expanded U.S. power to conduct surveillance without a court order.
The Senate bill would provide new protections of civil liberties, such as requiring tougher congressional and judicial oversight.
(Editing by Patricia Zengerle and David Wiessler)
Hey, wonderful. Before ya know it, no one will be able to have a private conversation w/o big brother listenin in to make sure you don’t say somethin that may be insubordinate.
More government....that’ll solve all our problems!!!!
Can’t wait till Bush is outta office.
Political correctness in the front and sly handlings of our rights going out the back door are very disturbing. I wonder how many mosques in this country have weapons caches, throw away phones and the latest in lawyer speak to cover their A##es when they get busted. Don't have an answer to the war on internal terror and the loss of personal rights, seems to be a nasty catch 22. I've learned more in this one thread on reading the back and forth than I think I have in ..well, in quite a long time.
Dodd comes back from a losing effort to support another losing effort. Gee, that Texan dummie seems to be actually defeating the Dems Congressionally for the last 5 months. And today, Congress’ approval is down to its lowest rate. If I were king, I would be tapping every Islamic mosque!
Only you can’t under any stretch.
They are appointed for life and only impeachment can remove them.
They also have unqualified immunity for any and all acts made from the bench or even done regarding any case while sitting.
so you can’t do that either.
Straw arguments. - The program is very good.
Sometimes a Ruby Ridge Reno comes in and leaves behind mountains of dead, but they don’t need this law to do so.
They just do it, and your laws, or lack of them won’t even be a speed bump.
Which is what is supposed to happen IF/When they commit a felony. Judges can be removed. Tennessee had some judicial reforms a little over a decade ago and judges now understand their position is subject to scrutiny. The Constitution never made a provision for felonies and treason to go unpunished by any elected or appointed official.
Impeachment and removal works unless spineless cowards in Washington refuse to abide by it. Such ones as Fred Thompson, Ted Stevens, Senators Snowe, Collins etc as well as the other Democrats in the senate besides those I mentioned we all know the names.
Let me ask you a question. How much outrage do you think there would have been in this forum had Gore gotten elected and did what Bush did? Would you still be here saying Yippie what a swell idea Mr President? True they will run over you law or no law. So you tell me why we should make it any easier to do it and make such deeds legal? It was George W Bush who told this nation in 2000 he and Mr Gore were not that far apart on most issues. I am miles apart from Gore on about all issues unlike our POTUS so how about you?
... and the land of the Feeeee, and the home of the knave...
YEP I’D SAY SO...im in 100% agreement with ya...spy the hell out of em and then hit ‘em hard in a half a dozen places...kick the hell out of ‘em all the time, go thru em like crap thru a goose to borrow the words of g.s. patton.
A lot of those “yets” will be here sooner than we want.
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