The Gates of Hell

From: Reuters

U.S. telephone companies that took part in President George W. Bush’s warrantless domestic spying program could be shielded from billions of dollars in lawsuits under a electronic spy bill finalized on Thursday by congressional and White House negotiators.

Under the measure, a court would dismiss a suit if there is written certification that the White House asked a phone company to cooperate and assured it of the legality of the program Bush secretly began after the September 11 attacks.

Of the legal action pending against major telecommunications companies, House Republican Whip Roy Blunt said, “The lawsuits will be dismissed.”

The bill would provide the most sweeping overhaul of U.S. spy powers in decades. In addition to court review of lawsuits, it would increase judicial and congressional oversight of U.S. intelligence activities and bolster protection of civil liberties — but not as much as some advocates would like.

A vote on the bipartisan bill was set for Friday in the Democratic-led House of Representatives, which was expected to approve it overwhelmingly.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 19th, 2008 at 5:53 pm and is filed under Police State, USA, surveillance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.