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

FBI CHIEF: LACK OF LEGAL SHIELD WON'T HALT TELECOM SPY PARTNERSHIPS
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Anne Broache]
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 Mueller said in various ways that he was concerned that lack of retroactive liability protection would harm the government's "relationships" with telephone companies -- which seems to leave in doubt whether all of the administration's requests were legal.
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* Wiretapping focus shifts to e-mail communications
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.
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