As we have previously noted, any FISA modernization bill must contain effective legal protections for those companies sued because they are believed to have helped the Government prevent terrorist attacks in the aftermath of September 11, 2001.

A lot of assumptions (lies) there which simply fit the previous seven years of propaganda, and have NO basis in fact.

Nothing prevents an impeachment from being handed out after the culprits have left office. But I suppose when the next Congress is sworn in, they won’t even remember where to find the table to see what’s on it.

The Webb aide I talked to today said that Judge Walker’s ruling in the Al Haramain case is ”changing the game a little” for members of the Judiciary Committee. I expressed the hope that the change was in the direction of eroding support for the bill, since the main effect of that ruling was to expose as a sham the Democratic leadership’s claim that exclusivity was a big part of what was ”won” to make this bill an acceptable ”compromise”.

His report might mean, though, that Specter’s amendment is shape-shifting — something to keep an eye on.

Bob in HI

Gonna have to do some digging and see if my paranoia is justified.

Nope, no retroactive immunity for other than Commcos.

And after I thought about it for a bit, that makes sense, as does the warning to the Senators I imagined occuring in my comment at # 58.

The reason there is no retroactive immunity for the “others” is simply this:

1. Nobody has brought a Federal civil lawsuit against the likes of Visa, Airlines, Banks, etc. for violations of privacy.

2. Folks like Visa, Mastercharge, Financial institutions, Airlines etc. and their records are not subject to FISA strictures and therefore wouldn’t be appropriate to include in the FISA 4th Amendment Erasure bill.

3. Nobody from the MSM has yet to break a story out about handing over these records to the Administration. DFHs don’t count.

So, for the time being, those “others” are safely hunkered down out of sight and mind, but you can bet your last dollar, they too voluntarily gave it up!

I mean, these guys are just demented enough to do something like that. Unfortunately.

Bob in HI

That’s precisely what he did with the 9/11 Commission, after all, so there is precedent.

“Yo Senators! Don’t be voting against this retroactive immunity for Telcos, because a whole bunch of other heavy campaign donors of yours are hangin’ out on the very same limb.

Yo Senators Dodd, Biden, Bingaman, Durbin, Feinstein, Kerry, Lautenberg, Menendez, Reed, Schumer, etc. you might want to think about all those financial institution campaign donors of yours. Folks like Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse Group, MBNA Corp, Bear Stearns, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, American Bankers Assn, etc.

All of these folks, and friends of yours Senators are voluntarily giving us any and all financial tracking info we ask for. And since each one of them issues a kazillion credit cards, we get that too.

So don’t be biting the hand that feeds you. Yo Senators, are we making ourselves clear?”