1 post tagged “congress”
President Bush included the following statement in tonight's State of the Union address:
Congress must pass liability protection for companies believed to have assisted in the efforts to defend America.
I ask, why do companies need liability protection if their assistance was lawful? Well, most likely because their assistance was not lawful, or the order given to them to assist was not lawful. (See my longer post on the topic of retroactive immunity for obeying an illegal order.)
I especially like the awkward language "believed to have assisted." Believed by who? Did they or didn't they assist "in the efforts to defend America"? And what does belief have to do with it anyway? No offense to my lawyer friends, but I think a lawyer wrote that line.
By the way, if you want more in-depth resources on FISA and the NSA wiretapping/eavesdropping program, check out CDT's page on FISA and NSA Warrantless Snooping. The immunity issue is one piece of a much more far-reaching effort to extend the President's power at the expense of American's civil liberties.
