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Home > The Secrecy File > Archives > 2007 > November > 16 > Entry
Texas Republican says RESTORE Act helps terrorists
Texas Republican Rep. Lamar Smith is frustrated by last night’s House vote that would make significant changes to the nation’s surveillance laws if signed into law.
The new legislation does not address the needs outlined by the director of national intelligence, Smith said. The new legislation adds unreasonable court oversight to eavesdropping and surveillance of suspected spies and terrorist overseas.
But more importantly, it does not protect telephone companies from lawsuits for participating in President Bush’s terrorist surveillance program after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks without a court warrant as federal law requires.
“Democrats failed to protect the American people by ignoring urgent requests from the intelligence community to update tools and modernize laws governing intelligence gathering,” said Smith, the highest ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, which has jursidiction over efforts to improve the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
The so-called Restore Act actually undermines national security and increases the risk of a future attack, Smith said.
“Democrats are playing politics by claiming that this bill “restores” checks and balances,” Smith said. “This bill restores nothing but a legal loophole for terrorists and spies.”
The legislation requires inteligence agencies to obtain a court order from the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court before it conducts surveillance of targets overseas. Smith said that requirement would slow the process down and allow suspected terrorists to slip through the hands of investigators.
“The implications of this requirement alone could be catastrophic,” Smith said. “The bill gives terrorists overseas more rights under the law, than individuals inside the United States. That is simply absurd.”
There is nothing but confusion over in the Senate chamber.
The Senate Judiciary panel sent a bill to the floor that does not include the immunity provision. Now it is up to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to decide what bill to take up.
Reid has three options: -He could call the Senate Intelligence Committee bill to the floor that includes immunity for the telecom industry. -He could call for a vote on the House measure. -He could call for a vote on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s redrafted bill, which does not include immunity
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Comments
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By Harold
November 16, 2007 1:32 PM | Link to this
Nice misleading, biased, one sided report report. Is this a news outlet or propaganda outlet?
“does not protect telephone companies from lawsuits”
Why not call it what it is, retroactive immunity to lawbreakers who helped the Bush administration break more laws and shred the constitution, something they have a fetish for doing. Are there any republicans left in the nation who care about our liberties other than Ron Paul who has no power or influence in his own party?