Senate Moves Closer To TeleCo Immunity

Senate Republicans and Democrats are playing a game of hardball over the re-authorization of FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Republicans, at the behest of the White House, are championing immunity for telecommunications companies. The House version of the bill, passed last summer, contains no immunity provision for telecos who are alleged to have participated in the Bush Administration warrantless wiretap program.

This is the second time in six weeks that the Senate has attempted action on FISA reauthorization. A vote on cloture is now scheduled for Monday, right before the President's state of the union address.

FISA will sunset on 1 February; the White House warns that its expiration will hamstring anti-terrorism efforts. It would mean that the federal government would have to get approval from individual courts before tapping "any communication that passes through U.S. telecommunications switches and computer servers."

If the Senate version of the bill differs from the House version, it will need to go to conference committee before getting final Congressional approval.

See

• Warrantless Wiretaps: Temporarily Legal
• Bush Defends Bypassing Courts, Asserts Wiretaps Are Legal
• Secret Court Modified Record Number of Bush Wiretap Requests
• Specter Believes Wiretaps Illegal
• Ipso Wiretap Poll : Half Believe Wiretap Warrants Necessary
• More on Comey, NSA and the Politicization of Justice
• NSA Overview and Timeline