January 24, 2008

WH Yields On Wiretap Documents As Congress Mulls FISA

After months of resistance, the Bush administration has agreed to hand over secret documents about its controversial warrantless wiretapping program to Congress. Last year, some members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence told the White House they would not approve immunity deals for telecommunication firms involved in the wiretapping program unless they were given access to the classified information.

An aide to Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, told AP that members and staff of both the intelligence panel and the House Judiciary Committee were to begin pouring over the documents at the White House today.

The Bush administration is vigorously pressing members of Congress to approve a permanent renewal of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the current version of which expires next month. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have made the inclusion of legal immunity for telecom firms a top priority, with Bush threatening to veto any measure that did not include such protections.

Today, Senate Democrats failed to add an amendment to a FISA renewal bill that would have denied legal protections for telecom firms involved in the wiretapping program -- "a major defeat for Democrats who said" Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy's "measure would have done the best job of protecting the constitutional rights of U.S. citizens," CongressDailyPM reports. See the full story (subscription) for details on the Senate negotiations.

Posted at 4:20 PM
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