WASHINGTON -- The Senate on Tuesday approved new rules for government eavesdropping on phone calls and e-mails, giving the White House much of the latitude it wanted and granting legal immunity to telecommunications companies that helped in the snooping after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Protection for the telecom companies is the most prominent feature of the legislation, something President Bush had insisted on as essential to getting private sector cooperation in spying on foreign terrorists and other targets. The bill would give retroactive protection to companies that acted without court permission.
The House did not include the immunity provision in a similar bill it passed last year. House Republicans now want to adopt the Senate bill, which would avoid contentious negotiations to work out differences between the competing legislation.
About 40 lawsuits have been filed against telecom companies by people alleging violations of wiretapping and privacy laws.
Bush promised to veto any new surveillance bill that did not protect the companies, arguing that it is essential if the private sector is to give the government the help it needs.
The president called the Senate bill a good piece of legislation that allows the intelligence community to monitor communications of foreign terrorists while protecting Americans' liberties. He urged the House to pass the bill and send it to his desk without delay.
The real issue here is the telecom immunity. By providing the telecoms immunity from prosecution, we will never know the extent of the relationship between the telecoms and the Bush administration on how far this illegal domestic spying program will go. President Bush will never provide the details of this spying program to Congress. The only way to get the details on this program is through the telecom lawsuits. If retroactive immunity is given to the telecoms, then those lawsuits will be thrown out of court, and the telecoms will be free from prosecution from the criminality that they knowingly engaged in.
But what really pisses me off here is the number of Democratic senators who approved of the telecom immunity:
Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Evan Bayh (D-IN), Daniel Inouye (D-HI), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Herb Kohl (D-WI), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Mark Pryor (D-AR), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Ken Salazar (D-CO), Tom Carper (D-DE), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Jim Webb (D-VA), Ben Nelson (D-NE), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Kent Conrad (D-ND), and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
My own California Democratic senator, Dianne Feinstein, sold our constitutional rights out for protecting the telecom industry.
Here is my own protest email sent to Dianne Feinstein's office:
Dear Senator Feinstein:
I am writing this letter in protest to your affirmative voting for Senate Bill S. 2248, also known as the FISA Amendments Act of 2007. I have just one simple question to ask you--why did you vote for this disaster of a bill? Why did you vote to allow retroactive immunity to the telecom industry for their complacency in providing the Bush administration the ability to conduct illegal domestic spying operations against American citizens? Is it because you are in bed with the Telecom and Computer/Internet industry, having taken $93,276 from the telecoms, and $167,987 from Computers/Internet industry? Protecting these industries from their own criminal conduct is more important than protecting Americans' civil rights and rights to privacy? Is that why you voted to support this disaster of a bill, which will allow the Bush administration immunity from any sort of investigation into their own malfeasance? Because that is what you have just done with your vote.
The telecom industry knew that what they were doing in allowing the Bush administration to domestically spy on Americans without a warrant was in violation of Americans' rights to privacy. This is not about national security, or the Great War on Terrorism--this is about outright greed on the telecom industry's part. And you have allowed that greed to continue. You have given the Bush administration, and the telecoms, a "Get Out of Jail Free" card in keeping the details of this massive domestic spying operation secret from the American public. By providing retroactive immunity to the telecoms for participating in this illegal operation, that they knew was illegal, we will never know the scope of the "high crimes and misdemeanors" this administration has consistently engaged in. You have failed in your duties to protect the American people, and to protect the Constitution, with this vote. What is more, you have shown your own greed in siding with your true constituents--the telecoms and Computer/Internet industries--rather than to the American people. You should be removed from office because of your accessory to this criminality that you allowing to continue.
And when you do come up for re-election, I want you to know that I will never vote for you again. In fact, if another Democrat challenges your seat, I will support that challenger in any way I can. You do not deserve to sit on that seat because of this selfish vote you have given.
Eric A Hopp
Senator Feinstein needs to be removed from office.
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