Dear Madam Speaker:
How is it appropriate to retroactively indemnify conduct that has almost certainly infringed on the 4th Amendment privacy rights of American citizens without even attempting to investigate what has happened in an open session of Congress? Don't We, the People, deserve to know exactly how we are being surveilled before the telecom providers are given carte blanche for their activities? How much of our taxpayer dollars have been paid to the telecoms to allow the NSA to spy on us? If the Administration will invoke state secrets and executive privilege, surely the telecom officials have no right to do so and could provide us with the information if properly subpoenaed. Surely the Congress could also subpoena the rulings from the FISC that precipitated this whole mess last year?
IF ILLEGAL SURVEILLANCE IS GOING TO BE WIPED AWAY BY CONGRESSIONAL FIAT, DON'T YOU AT LEAST OWE US AN ANSWER AS TO WHAT EXACTLY IS BEING DONE TO 'PROTECT US'?
Comments (1)
It isn't appropriate, and to the degree that the telecoms violated the Constitution Congress doesn't have the power to grant them immunity in any case. When this gets to court it will have to be thrown out. So, even if Congress votes for this, it's nothing but throwing the White House a bone. It just gives them an unnecessary victory when we can ill afford to do that. It was truly stupid to allow this bill to come to the floor. I can only hope the Senate sends it off for a long sleep in committee.