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SJC To Vote On Surveillance Bill Next Week
Maybe Mark Klein will consider this a small victory. The Senate Judiciary Committee is still going to mark up the surveillance bill this morning -- its business meeting starts at 10 a.m. -- but it won't take up a vote on the full bill until next week.
Erica Chabot, a spokeswoman for Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT), the committee chairman, says that the committee is going to consider the bill in two installments. Today it'll mark up and vote on Title I, which deals with warrant issues, the role of the FISA Court in authorizing surveillance, sunsetting provisions and more. But Titles II and III will be deferred until next week -- and that's the section of the bill that concerns retroactive legal immunity for telecommunications companies. No matter what happens today, the full bill won't be voted out of the committee; that'll be next week, assuming the committee passes the measure.
Chabot says Leahy made the decision "to make [the markup] more manageable." Compared to the other provisions of the bill, telecom immunity is "a much bigger debate."
Comments (7)
correctnotright wrote on November 8, 2007 11:40 AM:They better not give retroactive immunity for illegal acts - that just encourages the telecoms to illegally spy on Americans. Don't buy the argument that the goverment asked - so the telecoms had to comply. Quest turned them down after consulting with their lawyers. These big corporations (ATT) knew exactly what they were doing (and you know they consulted their high paid lawyers) - and they were angling for contracts and money over our liberties.
parrot wrote on November 8, 2007 1:30 PM:Punish them with the full extent of the law, so that this never happens again and no administration can push around these companies to spy illegally on Americans.
Respect the fallen and show some backbone when it comes to enforcement of the nation's laws! The people who made these bad decisions are gangsters parading around as patriots.
2turk wrote on November 8, 2007 2:55 PM:... to protect the US Constitution from (treasonous) enemies both domestic and international...
Well there you go, just do your job. This fascist corporatist junta can not be allowed to get away with this. These Nazis will be back again in the future to pick up where they left off. The rule of law is there to keep America a civilized society - no man or industrial enterprise is above the law.
The telecoms were entrusted to keep our private communications private - we pay them a hefty monthly fee for phone/fax/Internet/cable connections. They breached their contract with us by selling our private information to the highest bidder - specifically, knowingly/intentionally/willfully in violation with the FISA Laws. Now they must suffer the consequences along with governmental employees who encouraged this criminal activity. That is the only way these fascists will be dissuaded from doing this again.
Roberta wrote on November 8, 2007 3:26 PM:Good strategy to divide the bill into sections. It stops criticism that nothing's being done, but it allows for more information to come to the committee--and I hope it comes from some of Mark Klein's counterparts across the country.
Be brave, telecom workers! Do the right thing. I bet Qwest will hire you. They've got integrity.
pointus wrote on November 8, 2007 7:13 PM:Qwest paid a huge price for not going along with Cheney's criminal scheme. They lost contracts worth hundreds of millions, and their CEO was maliciously prosecuted and convicted of bogus insider trading charges. These douchebags in the whitehouse are playing for keeps.
TheraP wrote on November 8, 2007 7:46 PM:The way I see it, the wiretapping is like getting a party line when you paid for a private line!
electricphoto wrote on November 9, 2007 12:52 PM:Thye AT&T spying operation in San Francisco was for surveiling Nancy Pelosi and the activities of the Democrats. Thats the key to what the sying operation was about.
Look closley at key democrats and how they have been intimidated into backing away from prosecuting Bush.
Pelosi, ONE PERSON, decides that Bush is imune from any crime being prosecuted as impeachment. They didn't need to control but ONE SINGLE PERSON.
They used a time tested technique of spying to get someone to keep quiet. If Pelosi has done one thing in her life that she wants hidden, an affair, a daliance, anything... the Bush team have it and they make it known that they'll use it.
People have been controled this way for decades, Presidents have ordered spying on oponents in every administration. It is crazy to think that the team that impeached Clinton stoped there with their smear factory.
They know every move Pelosi makes, they know every conversation and email that Democrats have. They know every weakness, every personal item.. you can see the fix is in everywhere you look.
THAT'S WHAT WAS GOING ON AT AT&T IN SAN FRANCISCO...
Its the watergate bugging times one million...