Legal Commentary

. . . Meanwhile, Back In DC, Dems Find Backbone On FISA

By Big Tent Democrat

mcjoan at daily kos brings us this good news:

The Senate leadership has reached agreement with Republicans on how to proceed with the surveillance bill, and they held tough. According to leadership sources, these key Democratic amendments will get a simple majority vote: . . .</more

* Striking Immunity (Feingold/Dodd): Strips the provision providing for telco amnesty from the current bill.

* Sequestration (Feingold): Prohibits the use of illegally obtained information.

* Bulk collection (Feingold): Requires the government to certify to the FISA Court that it is collecting communications of targets for whom there is a foreign intelligence interest.

* Reverse targeting (Feingold): Prohibits warrantless reverse targeting by requiring a FISA Court order for surveillance of a foreign person where the "significant purpose" of the collection is to target a U.S. person located in the United States.

* Substitution (Whitehouse-Specter): Substitutes the government for telcos being sued for their participation in the warrantless wiretapping program, but only if the company is first determined by the FISA Court to have cooperated with the Bush Administration reasonably and in good faith.

The big contest here is between Feingold/Dodd on Telco immunity and Whitehouse/Specter on Substitution. Whitehouse/Specter becomes an appealing place for the Ben Nelson and Claire McCaskills of the world to park their "bipartisanship." At first blush, it seems not unreasonable, but it very well might be. I am troubled with the FISA Court making the determination as opposed to the Court hearing the case against the Telcos.

I want to study that point a bit more.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on February 01, 2008 (boomark / email).