The bill, sponsored by Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., that give legal status under certain conditions to Bush's warrantless wiretapping of calls and e-mails between people on U.S. soil making calls or sending e-mails and those in other countries. Under the measure, the president would be authorized to conduct such wiretaps if he:
- Notifies the House and Senate intelligence committees and congressional leaders.
- Believes an attack is imminent and later explains the reason and names the individuals and groups involved.
- Renews his certification every 90 days.
Here's how the Republicans were spinning the case yesterday:
Democrat Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and 159 of her Democrat colleagues voted today in favor of more rights for terrorists," Hastert said in a statement. "So the same terrorists who plan to harm innocent Americans and their freedom worldwide would be coddled, if we followed the Democrat plan. "
Democrats contend the bill will:
...make Bush's programs vulnerable to being overturned in court. More broadly, they argue the legislation reflects the White House's willingness to fight the war on terrorism at the expense of civil and human rights.
Also in yesterday's news, a federal judge in Detroit ruled the plan illegal,
A federal judge in Detroit who struck down the warrantless surveillance program turned aside a government request for an indefinite stay Thursday. U.S. Judge Anna Diggs Taylor said the government could have a week to appeal.
The House bill is H.R. 5825; the Senate bill is S. 3931.
The ACLU says, Congress should "adopt a bipartisan motion to refer the bill back to the committees, and failing that, to reject the misguided proposal."
"If this bill is adopted, Congress would be authorizing more warrantless surveillance of Americans than ever before," said Lisa Graves, ACLU Senior Counsel for Legislative Strategy. "One federal court has already found the NSA's warrantless spying on Americans to be unconstitutional and illegal. We implore lawmakers to reject this effort to condone the president's abuse of power by granting him a legal framework for the vast and unchecked powers he seeks."
