Immunity

Senate approves telecom immunity for NSA wiretap cooperation

The US Senate Wednesday voted 69-28 to approve a bill amending the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to grant retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies participating in the NSA warrantless surveillance program. Earlier in the day, the Senate had rejected three proposed amendments to the bill that would have limited immunity.

The Dodd-Feingold-Leahy amendment, which would have removed all mention of telecom immunity from the legislation, was rejected 32-66. The Bingaman amendment, which would have suspended immunity pending a decision by the Inspector General on the legality of the warrantless wiretapping program, was rejected by a vote of 56-42. The Specter amendment, which would have limited immunity to instances where a court found that the associated intelligence operation was constitutional, was rejected 61-37.

On Tuesday, President George W. Bush called on Congress to pass legislation granting telecom companies retroactive immunity, promising to veto any bill that did not include such provisions. Last month, the US House of Representatives passed a compromise version of a bill amending FISA and including a controversial provision granting retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that participated in the NSA warrantless surveillance program.

The bill also grants the FISA court authority to review a wider range of wiretapping orders, would prohibit the executive branch from overriding the court's authority, and orders the Department of Justice and other agencies to issue a report on the country's use of wiretapping orders.

Earlier versions of the bill without the immunity provisions had also passed in the House, but President Bush has said he will veto any version of the bill without the language. The Senate is expected to vote on the bill next week and has already approved similar legislation including the immunity clause.

(Published by Jurist - july 10, 2008)