From the New York Times:
WASHINGTON — After months of wrangling, Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress struck a deal on Thursday to overhaul the rules on the government’s wiretapping powers and provide what amounts to legal immunity to the phone companies that took part in President Bush’s warrantless eavesdropping program after the Sept. 11 attacks...... The agreement would settle one of the thorniest issues in dispute by providing immunity to the phone companies in the Sept. 11 program as long as a federal district court determines that they received legitimate requests from the government directing their participation in the warrantless wiretapping operation.
With some AT&T and other telecommunications companies now facing some 40 lawsuits over their reported participation in the wiretapping program, Republican leaders described this narrow court review on the immunity question as a mere “formality.” The proposal — particularly the immunity provision — represents a major victory for the White House after months of dispute. “I think the White House got a better deal than they even they had hoped to get,” said Senator Christopher Bond, the Missouri Republican who led the negotiations.
You've got to wonder how many campaign contributions just got used up. Good going, Democrats. You spineless weasels....
2 comments:
I really, really hate AT&T.
Hate politicians too.
Associated Temerity and Terribleness? The folks who gleefully participated in (what I regard as) illegal wiretapping? How could you not like them? (Should I speak up? Do you think the mikes caught that?)
And as for politicians, my rule of thumb is that the better they're known, the slimier they are. It saddens me that Obama's no exception. Perhaps not as slimy as many, but as the NRA likes to say, he's on that slippery slope....
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