Durbin: No Immunity For Telecoms ‘Until We Understand What The Program Has Been About’

[ProSense]

Durbin: No Immunity For Telecoms ‘Until We Understand What The Program Has Been About’

This week, the House introduced FISA reform legislation that refused to grant immunity to telecommunications companies for their participation in potentially illegal spying activities. President Bush immediately warned that he would veto the legislation if it did not surrender on the immunity provision.

Early reports suggested that the Senate was prepared to back down on the immunity provision. FireDogLake reported that the Senate version of the FISA bill “does contain immunity/amnesty for the telecom companies.”

But this weekend on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt,” Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke out forcefully against granting unconditional immunity to the telecom companies for potentially illegal acts:

I’m not for blanket immunity until we understand what the program has been about. The day will come, maybe in my lifetime or later, when we’ll finally figure out what the Bush administration has been up to these years with this secret program.

I don’t want the embarrassment of history coming back saying what were they thinking of in Congress to give blanket immunity when they didn’t even know the circumstances.

“The administration says trust us,” Durbin argued. “It is hard to trust an administration which has failed to even tell Congress what the programs are about.” Watch it:

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[TwilightGardener]

1. Does Durbin know that the telecom wiretapping was in place

(or at least being arranged) well before Sept. 11th, 2001? If that's not a sure sign of trouble in terms of what the true purpose of the program was, then I don't know what is.

[lateo]

2. There should be NO immunity...

regardless of any understanding of the program. They broke the law and did so knowingly.

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. kick

[leveymg]

4. First, we pay the telcos and defense contractors billions to break the law, then give them immunity?

Isn't America great.

[EFerrari]

6. I feel like I'm living in a Douglas Adams' novel.

Like it would be a good idea to get a neck brace to prevent my head from spinning right off.

[leveymg]

7. If only the purpose were so benign as a road project. Check this out, if you like the absurd

http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Manhattan_Engineering_District

[EFerrari]

8. It's not so much a matter of enjoying the absurd

but of having to shake hands with it daily. :)

[lostnfound]

5. I mentioned this in another thread but here again: TX already passed immunity

The WH Criminals probably got what they wanted in the GOP-controlled states already. TX passed one a few years ago.

[Joanne98]

9. YAY

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

10. Why isn't ANY DAMN ONE thumping on Bush for threatening a veto?!!!!!

:grr:

[Kurovski]

11. K&R. (nt)

[nashville_brook]

12. knr

[creeksneakers2]

13. Good for Durbin!

Refusal is a great start. If Bush vetoes the bill down the road, let him.

[fasttense]

14. So many crimes, so few punished. n/t