Reyes: Deal soon on eavesdropping law

[cal04]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080302/ap_on_go_co/terrorist_surveillance

The House Intelligence Committee chairman expects a compromise soon on renewal of an eavesdropping law that could provide legal protections for telecommunications companies as President Bush has insisted.

Rep. Silvestre Reyes, in a television interview broadcast Sunday, did not specifically say whether the House proposal would mirror the Senate's version. The Senate measure provides retroactive legal immunity to the companies that helped the government wiretap U.S. computer and phone lines after the Sept. 11 attacks without clearance from a secret court.

(snip)
Reyes, D-Texas, said he was open to that possibility after receiving documents from the Bush administration and speaking to the companies about the industry's role in the government spy program.

"We are talking to the representatives from the communications companies because if we're going to give them blanket immunity, we want to know and we want to understand what it is that we're giving immunity for," he said. "I have an open mind about that."

[madfloridian]

1. They are going to cave?

I was afraid of that.

[madokie]

2. I knew this was coming

screaming at the top of my lungs, fuck you you bunch of lilly livered sorry assed no good democrats anyway, you bastages anyway.

do we need some new representation or what?

[VP505]

5. I have had that feeling

also. I have noticed little hints here and there, like Conyers saying at a presser that he was confident that something acceptable to everyone would be worked out while refusing to give details. Then reading in a recent post about how liberal Dem's were trying to organize a secret meeting on FISA that seemed to me they were fishing for an excuse to capitulate again, and now this from Reyes. Absolutely we need some new Rep's, some that understand how a progressive Democratic Representative should do business with a 19% approval rated President.

[alfredo]

3. I think they have put a poison pill in their demands. Those being

documents and details of the telecoms role. bush does not turn over documents, nor does he allow his partners in crime to speak.

[AndyTiedye]

4. Surrender Time Again

The Repiggies can Watergate us every day and that's just fine.