fisa

House Democrats refuse to delete pending spy lawsuits

Congressional Democrats on Tuesday dug in on their refusal to pass a revamped surveillance law that could wipe out some 40 lawsuits accusing telephone companies of illegal cooperation with government spies.

According to summary documents provided by U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's office, Democratic leaders are preparing to debate yet another new bill that would not offer so-called "retroactive immunity" to companies that allegedly opened up their networks to the National Security Agency without a court order. At least in theory, that means cases like the one the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed against AT&T … Read more

Wiretapping focus shifts to e-mail communications

The FISA fight is all about the e-mails, according to public comments made on Tuesday by a Department of Justice official.

For months, the debate has centered around immunity for telecom companies including AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint. The primary focus has been on the warrantless wiretapping of the phone calls made by millions of Americans. In comments made at a public meeting on Tuesday, Assistant Attorney General for National Security Kenneth Wainstein made clear that the FISA fight is not about foreign-to-foreign calls, but actually about Internet data. The Washington Post reports:

At the breakfast yesterday, Wainstein highlighted … Read more

FBI chief: Lack of legal shield won't halt telecom spy partnerships

WASHINGTON--As Congress debates whether to wipe out lawsuits accusing telephone companies of allegedly illegal wiretaps, the Bush administration has argued such cooperation is key to keeping Americans safe from terrorists.

FBI Director Robert Mueller continued that push on Wednesday, but he wouldn't go so far as to say those "private partners" would stop installing requested wiretaps unless certain legal protection is granted.

To some extent, Mueller is stating the obvious: Federal law requires telephone and Internet companies to comply with lawful wiretap court orders or lawful certifications from the attorney general, with stiff penalties for noncompliance. But … Read more

Spy law battle may be settled this week

An ongoing political tussle over a controversial expansion of electronic surveillance law may be put to rest sometime this week.

Under pressure from the Bush administration, the U.S. House of Representatives may hold an up-or-down vote on whether to shield companies like AT&T and Verizon from lawsuits alleging illegal cooperation with government spy agencies.

The debate, of course, surrounds attempts to "modernize" the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, which requires a warrant when foreign intelligence is being collected and at least one end of the communications is located in the United States.

There'… Read more

FISA or bust: What's Bush's real angle

Hardly a week goes by without President Bush urging Congress to pass a law to facilitate domestic federal eavesdropping on suspected terrorists' phone calls and e-mails.

The House and Senate versions of the surveillance bill--called the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Amendments Act--need to be reconciled. But politics is in the air (I know, you're shocked, shocked.)

The controversy centers on whether to extend legal immunity to telecommunications firms that carried out Uncle Sam's bidding and wiretapped U.S. phone and computer lines without first getting court permission. The Senate says yes, while the House says no.

In his stump … Read more

Under fire, Democrats seek end to spy law feud

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have already stood up to President Bush this week, refusing to approve a controversial Senate bill that would immunize telephone companies from lawsuits alleging illegal spying. Now they're being forced to defend their actions against those who contend that inaction endangers national security--and who wonder what happens next.

At a Capitol Hill press conference on Friday afternoon, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said he, Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.), and Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas) have already begun trying to resolve what has become a very public disagreement. … Read more

House Democrats to Bush: No way on telecom immunity

Rebuffing a series of incendiary statements from President Bush, House Democrats left town for a week without granting telecommunications firms immunity from violating federal privacy laws.

In a speech on Thursday, Bush accused Democrats of endangering "the lives of countless Americans" by not enacting the legislation he and fellow Republicans had proposed, which includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies that illegally opened their networks to the National Security Agency.

The White House subsequently circulated a statement saying: "This risks creating new intelligence gaps, which damages our national security and makes no sense if the first priority is … Read more

Republicans scuttle surveillance bill lacking telecom immunity

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have scuttled an attempt to grant a temporary extension to a controversial wiretap law--that did not include retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies.

By a 191-229 vote on Wednesday afternoon, the House failed to approve a bill to extend the Protect America Act for 21 days in its current form. The law--which Republicans say is necessary to allow interception of communications that transit the United States--is scheduled to expire on Saturday.

The vote, in which 34 Democrats joined the Republicans, comes hours after President Bush called for including retroactive immunity for any companies … Read more

Bush to Congress: Pass expanded spy law, already

With Congress seeking more time to finalize a soon-to-expire expansion of the government's electronic spying powers, President Bush on Wednesday issued an ultimatum: No more delays.

In a brief morning speech delivered from the Oval Office, the president praised the U.S. Senate's passage on Tuesday of a six-year law that would give the administration more latitude to conduct surveillance without a court order. The controversial measure would also immunize telephone companies from past and future lawsuits accusing them of illegal cooperation with government spy agencies. The whole package is intended to be a more permanent replacement to … Read more