Like I Said

This is all about staying out of jail for breaking the law.

Laura Rozen at War and Piece has the official “excuse” for this law, Statement from the Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell:

The second item is the real reason –

Second, those who assist the Government in protecting us from harm must be protected from liability. This includes those who are alleged to have assisted the Government after September 11, 2001 and have helped keep the country safe. I understand the leadership in Congress is not able to address before the August recess the issue of liability protection for those who are alleged to have helped the country stay safe after September 11, 2001. However, I appreciate the commitment of the congressional leadership to address this particular issue immediately upon the return of Congress in September 2007.

They realized that they are going to be caught and they want their pardon now. I have a feeling that a few corporate lawyers have looked at what was going on and said, we are at serious risk and need to stop doing this. Look at the wording, “those who are alleged to have helped”. He’s talking about the telecoms who let the Feds plug into their switches and are now being sued. Hey, “don’t do the crime, if you can’t do the time.”

After 9/11 the Congress would have passed anything that the Shrubbery wanted, but he didn’t even bother to ask. The USA PATRIOT act severely folded, spindled, and mutilated the Bill of Rights, but that wasn’t enough to cover all of their criminality.

A point of information, you don’t need to apply for a FISA warrant before you start, you have a 72-hour window to apply after you start. You can continue until the warrant is denied, you don’t have to stop when you apply for the warrant. They lie because they are breathing.