Lawmakers Strip Immunity for Telecom Companies from Surveillance Bill

Despite threats of a White House veto, both the full House and the Senate Judiciary Committee passed bills Thursday rejecting blanket immunity for telecommunication companies that cooperated with the Bush Administration’s program of warrantless wiretapping. The White House said the House bill “dangerously weakens” national security and “fails to protect companies facing massive lawsuits.”

Both bills amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act or FISA and pave the way for courts to decide whether telecom companies might have broken the law when they participated in the warrantless wiretapping program.

The Senate Judiciary Committee vote on the bill follows the Senate Intelligence committee vote in October. But the Senate Intelligence Committee had approved a version that included telecom amnesty. The Senate leadership is expected to decide which of the two proposals will be considered by the full Senate.

Michelle Richardson is a Legislative Consultant for the American Civil Liberties Union, where she lobbies on national security issues. Before joining the ACLU, she was counsel to John Conyers, Jr., and the House Judiciary Committee, where she specialized in national security issues, constitutional law, and government oversight. Michelle Richardson joins me now in Washington, DC.

• Michelle Richardson. Legislative Consultant for the ACLU where she lobbies on national security issues.

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