FISA

To my utter shock and dismay the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives passed a revised FIASA bill today, giving President Bush virtually everything he wanted. Essentially the new bill allows the administration to continue its warrantless wiretap program, sans congressional oversight, while granting immunity from prosecution to telecommunication companies for their part in the crime –past, present, or future. The bill now goes to the Senate and must be approved there.

This is a total betrayal by legislators, not only of the people they represent but of the Constitution which they swore an oath to uphold. I cannot, for the life of me, imagine how this bill got passed, though I did hear one revealing whisper. Certain Congressmen knew about these wiretaps before they became public knowledge, and if anyone were actually prosecuted for this illegal surveillance, it is conceivable that those Congressmen could become defendants. So perhaps they were just protecting themselves.

This is a dark day for those of us who believe in the law, and a darker day for those of us who thought Obama’s nomination signaled a fundamental change in American politics.