Obama Addresses FISA Immunity CriticsAfter they create largest social group on campaign website...
09:14AM Friday Jul 04 2008 by Karl Bodetags: legal · privacy · PoliticsBarack Obama angered a significant number of his core supporters recently when he
threw his support behind a bill that would give the nation's largest phone companies immunity for handing over user phone and Internet data without a warrant. The vote for the bill is scheduled for after the holiday weekend, giving privacy advocates and other civil libertarians a chance for a last second fight against the bill. On the Obama campaign's
social networking site, opponents of the bill have created the website's
largest group. Obama has
responded on the website:
This was not an easy call for me. I know that the FISA bill that passed the House is far from perfect. I wouldn't have drafted the legislation like this, and it does not resolve all of the concerns that we have about President Bush's abuse of executive power. It grants retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that may have violated the law by cooperating with the Bush Administration's program of warrantless wiretapping. This potentially weakens the deterrent effect of the law and removes an important tool for the American people to demand accountability for past abuses. That's why I support striking Title II from the bill, and will work with Chris Dodd, Jeff Bingaman and others in an effort to remove this provision in the Senate.
As the bill currently stands, Sprint, Verizon and AT&T would get a Presidential "get out of jail free" (or at least civil lawsuit) card for their role in the administration's warrantless wiretapping program. Qwest was the only baby bell that allegedly refused to cooperate in the program. The Bush administration has stated the President plans to veto any FISA bill that does not contain telecom immunity.
