I really like Glenn Greenwald's discussions of the new FISA bill, but for sheer soundbite skill I gotta go with Kevin Drum:
. . .basically the bill lays out several ways that telecoms can claim retroactive immunity for assisting the intelligence community, and one of them is that the assistance was:the subject of a written request or directive, or a series of written requests or directives, from the Attorney General or the head of an element of the intelligence community (or the deputy of such person) to the electronic communication service provider indicating that the activity was — (i) authorized by the President; and (ii) determined to be lawful;Judicial review is limited to a secret review that the request was made.
So that's that. Not even a fig leaf. If the president requested it and the AG certified it was legal, then telecom immunity is absolute. Some compromise. Neville Chamberlain would be proud.
If you disagree with these amendments, write your local Congressperson. You can also express your dissatisfaction by writing directly to Speaker Pelosi at AmericanVoices@mail.house.gov
Digby has more, including a link to a site where campaign donations can be made to fight the Blue Dogs who like these kinds of sellouts.
Posted by Linkmeister at June 19, 2008 10:51 AM | TrackBack