Rockefeller To Seek Senate Commerce Committee Chair

Sen John Rockefeller (D-WV) will seek the chairmanship of the powerful Senate Commerce Committee when Senate Democrats meet next week to determine leadership positions. Sen Rockefeller is currently chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, which has a lower profile. It was the intelligence panel that was instrumental in crafting the deal this year that effectively granted telecommunications companies immunity from civil lawsuits alleging they helped the federal government illegally listen to US citizens' phone calls and read their e-mails.