Bush Wants Phone Firms Immune to Privacy Suits

[ProSense]

Bush Wants Phone Firms Immune to Privacy Suits

By Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 4, 2007; Page A14

The Bush administration is urging Congress to pass a law that would halt dozens of lawsuits charging phone companies with invading ordinary citizens' privacy through a post-Sept. 11 warrantless surveillance program.

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The measure would gut Congress's efforts to conduct inquiries into the administration's surveillance program because a subpoenaed company or government official could invoke immunity, said Tim Sparapani, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, which has sued the government to force a halt to its wiretapping program.

"The end result is not only will the Bush administration continue to stonewall Congress in its request for information on warrantless wiretapping, but no one who participated will have any threat above their head," Sparapani said. "You could just face a congressional subpoena and say, 'I'm sorry, I'm immunized.' "

Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said to gain his support, the measure needs to state explicitly that a person who intentionally violates the law should not be granted immunity. "If somebody intentionally breaks the law . . . that's not something you should just ignore," he said.

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[Jim__]

1. Well, we don't expect a Democratic Congress to give him that.

Elections have consequences. Get used to it, junior.

[rurallib]

2. The constitution: just a piece of paper to some

[Adelante]

3. Heh

These bastids just keep on trying.