As President, could Obama overturn the telcom immunity? n/t

[Cheap_Trick]

[rusty charly]

1. After

he voted for it? Doubtful.

[Maddy McCall]

2. Flip

Flop

[SteppingRazor]

6. Yeah, but so what?

All he would have to do is say that, upon becoming president and getting briefed by the intelligence agencies, he's been given information that he did not have at the time of the vote. Ta-da! A flip-flop becomes a change of mind based on new information.

[SteppingRazor]

3. No. That'd be up to the judicial. What he could do is launch criminal investigations...

through the Justice Dept., aimed at the telecoms. The new bill gives them immunity from civil suits. It does NOT give them immunity from criminal cases.

[Alter Ego]

4. No, but he could work to amend it

so it's more to his taste.

[MrCoffee]

5. No.

[blogslut]

7. Yes, he can influence the Congress, as well as sign any new legislation

Our laws are fluid. They can be changed and amended.

[TechBear_Seattle]

8. Only if Congress lets him

Once the FISA bill is signed, the immunity is law. The president cannot unilaterally overturn law, no matter how desperate the Junta has been to claim unilateral authority. So either Congress passes a bill withdrawing the immunity, which Obama signs, or the Supreme Court rules that the immunity violates the Constitution and thus was never a law in the first place.

[Hawkeye-X]

11. Well, he can certainly sign an Executive Powers Act overriding the law

and that's legal and nothing that the Congress could do about it - Chimp has done tons of those and the Congress has done jackshit about it either.

Hawkeye-X

[comradebillyboy]

9. why would he?

what politician ever willingly gives up any powers that he has?

[On the Road]

10. There's Really No Need for Him To

The so-called immunity provisions do not protect the telecoms from criminal suits, from civil suits concerning activity initiated before Sep 11, or from civil suits for behavior that a court determines to be criminal.

One reason so many people are concerned about the current civil suits is that it appears to be the only way for discovery to take place. If Obama is sworn in, the Bush administration loses its ability to conceal.