Great breakdown of the current FISA debate going on in the US House right now. Greenwald does an excellent job, as usual, of providing a detailed analysis of the argument, and in so doing exposes the unnecessary fear-mongering and false threats Bush and the republican leadership are using in an attempt to force the passage of the deeply flawed Senate version of the bill. Bush claims that immunity from lawsuits for the telecom companies who participated in his illegal warrentless wiretapping program is essential to national security, despite...well...reality, to the contrary.
This idea of liability protection for corporate lawbreaking defies not only common sense and the basic understanding of justice, but the very legal system of our country. If these companies really did comply with legal requests for assistance from the government, let that be proven in the court of law. Courts which have long been vetted as stalwart custodians of state and legal secrets. And if it turns out (surprise!) that they actually broke the law, then legal ramifications are absolutely necessary. But either way, it is completely unacceptable and an affront to our legal system to have Congress simply legislate the issue away. Teleco immunity would mean that no lawsuits could ever be brought in response the administrations illegal behavior, facilitated by that industry. The American Public would be denied forever the ability to discover the extent of Bush's extra-constitutional activities, and legal or even historical accountability for those activities would be impossible.
Every American (that includes you too, Congressperson So-and-so) who claims to support the rule of law in this country should take a long, hard look at the Bush plan for the future of our legal system and surveillance community, and decide where your priorities are.
Posts
2 hours ago
0 comments:
Post a Comment