By the numbers:

According to Babak Pasdar's affidavit the FBI has a 45 Mbps line into the carrier's switch. If each voice channel uses 8 - 13 kbps then the whole line could simultaneously tap 3,500 - 5,500 calls; not 3,500-5,500 lines but simultaneous calls.

According to Bush, immunity is to protect the telcos against "billion dollar lawsuits". I think the EFF is asking up to $13,000 for each person whose line was tapped illegally. At $13,000 each one billion dollars pays 76,923 people. So by his own admission over 75,000 people were illegally wiretapped.

Posted at March 7, 2008 9:18 PM in response to "Dude, That's What They Want."

Jay Rockefeller probably wants immunity because the intelligence committee was previously told the extent of the illegal wiretapping and he's rightly afraid of what will happen to him if it is ever publicly revealed.

Posted at March 7, 2008 8:59 PM in response to House Dems Circulate Draft of Surveillance Compromise