November 6, 2007
TELECOM IMMUNITY
IN S. 2248,
THE
ADMINISTRATION/ ROCKEFELLER FISA BILL
S. 2248, the Administration / Rockefeller FISA amendments
bill grants the Attorney General the power to prevent any court or any public
utility commission from reviewing whether state and federal laws were broken by
the Administration’s warrantless surveillance after 9/11.
- Lets the Attorney General (AG) Kill Any Court Review of
Warrantless Surveillance. S. 2248 grants the Attorney General the sole discretion
about whether current cases against telecommunications carriers will
proceed. The AG need only certify
in writing to the court that either the telecom didn’t participate in the
program or that it did so in reliance on written assurances from the President
that the program was legal. The
court does not have the authority to even determine if either of these are true
– only to determine if the AG is abusing his discretion.
- Lets the AG Gag Judges. In addition to preventing court review,
S. 2248 allows the AG to effectively gag the courts. After forcing the courts to dismiss the
cases they are hearing, it then prevents the court from ever declaring whether
the dismissal was based on the telecoms alleged nonparticipation or whether they
did actually spy on their customers but were getting a pass from the
President.
- Prevents
States From Enforcing Their Own Privacy Laws. A number of states have begun
investigating whether their own states’ privacy laws were violated by the
warrantless wiretapping and release of consumer records after 9/11. S. 2248 even lets the AG intervene in
these state actions and prevent the states from protecting their own citizens
and enforce their own laws.
- Prevents Citizens From Enforcing Their Rights and Hides
Government Wrongdoing. In addition to killing the cases seeking monetary
damages, S. 2248 even kills the cases that only seek a ruling from the court
that the behavior was illegal and an order that it should not happen again in
the future. Instead of protecting
the telecoms from liability, this power allows the government to shield its own
wrongdoing and prevent any independent review of whether its wiretapping
activities were indeed constitutional or criminal.
- Creates a Disincentive to Follow the Law in the
Future. By letting the telecoms off the hook without any consequence – even
a ruling that they’re behavior was illegal and should not continue – sends the
wrong message to those who have access to our private conversations and
records. When the government asks
them to break the law in the future, they will have precedent that Congress will
cover their tracks.
