House Steers Its Own Path on Wiretaps

HOUSE STEERS ITS OWN PATH ON WIRETAPS
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Eric Lichtblau]
In continued defiance of the White House, House Democratic leaders are readying a proposal that would reject giving legal protection to the phone companies that helped in the National Security Agency’s program of wiretapping without warrants after the Sept. 11 attacks. Instead of blanket immunity, the tentative proposal would give the federal courts special authorization to hear classified evidence and decide whether the phone companies should be held liable. House Democrats have been working out the details of their proposal in the last few days, officials said, and expect to take it to the House floor for a vote on Thursday. President Bush has been insisting for months that Congress give retroactive immunity to the phone companies, calling it a vital matter of national security. The Senate gave him what he wanted in a vote last month that also broadened the government’s eavesdropping powers. But House Democratic leaders have balked at the idea.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/washington/11fisa.html?ref=todayspaper
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* Radio Fear America
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] President Bush used his radio address on Saturday to try to scare Americans into believing they have to sacrifice their rights and their values to combat terrorism. This is not the first time that Mr. Bush has misled Americans on intelligence-gathering and antiterrorism operations, and it may not be the last. It will be up to the next president to restore the rule of law.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/opinion/11tue2.html?ref=todayspaper
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