Prometheus 6

Prosecute the guys who assured the telecoms they were immune to FISA...all the way up the line to Bush...and the telecoms can go free.

"We have lost intelligence information this past week as a direct result of the uncertainty created by Congress' failure to act," McConnell and Mukasey wrote to Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-Tex.), chairman of the House intelligence committee. "Because of this uncertainty, some partners have reduced cooperation."

No, you lost intelligence by joining the Republican Party. Me, I lost intelligence by listening to you.

IF government lost intelligence, it is because the Administration refused to obey the law and go through the FISA process, and because YOU wouldn't vote for the extension because protecting the telecoms is more important than protecting the citizenry.

Spy Law Lapse Blamed for Lost Information
Some Telecom Firms Not Cooperating for Fear of Liability, U.S. Says
By Dan Eggen and Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, February 23, 2008; A03

The Bush administration said yesterday that the government "lost intelligence information" because House Democrats allowed a surveillance law to expire last week, causing some telecommunications companies to refuse to cooperate with terrorism-related wiretapping orders.

But hours later, administration officials told lawmakers that the final holdout among the companies had relented and agreed to fully participate in the surveillance program, according to an official familiar with the issue.

The assertions and revisions marked the latest developments in the battle over the Protect America Act, a temporary surveillance law broadening the government's spying powers that expired last Saturday.

The administration wants the House to approve a Senate bill that would make the law permanent while adding retroactive legal immunity for telecom companies, which face more than 40 lawsuits over alleged invasions of privacy while helping to conduct warrantless wiretapping efforts after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. House Democratic leaders have balked at the immunity provision, and adjourned the chamber last week without renewing the law.

The standoff has led to almost daily attacks from the White House and GOP lawmakers, who accuse Democrats of endangering national security to appease civil-liberties advocates and other liberal groups.

Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell and Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey said in a letter sent yesterday afternoon to Capitol Hill that the companies were refusing to cooperate because they were uncertain about what legal liability they might face.