Ok, so there's retroactive immunity for any crimes the telcos may have committed a few years back. That kinda sucks, but there it is.
Anyone know if there's immunity for them in the bill for the next time the government makes such an illegal request?
Anyone know if there's immunity for them in the bill for the next time the government makes such an illegal request?
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Of course, if the Supreme Court someday finds the law unconstitutional, who knows what'll happen.
This is what I was wondering about this last night -- could the Supreme Court review this law as being in violation of the 4th Admendment?
moment President Bush signs it -- and you can rest assured
they'll be meeting our lawyers in court."
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of an impressive array of
professionals -- journalists, human rights organizations and lawyers
-- whose ability to perform their work will be greatly compromised by
this new law.
Our clients include The Nation magazine and two of its contributing
journalists, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Service
Employees International Union (SEIU) and more.
Because of the nature of their calls and e-mails, our clients believe
that their communications are likely to be monitored under the new
law. Even the looming possibility of this surveillance disrupts their
ability to talk with sources, locate witnesses, conduct scholarship,
and engage in advocacy.
Where the "paperwork" comes from is still unclear. The FBI has been operating in a bit of a black hole - they believe that they can put the wiretap in for 48 hours before consulting a conventional court or FISA. Some of the other TLAs are pushing the envelope