FISA - REID: Will NOW Support Dodd's Filibuster (+Rockefeller Says Telecoms Are "Helpless")

[kpete]

Thursday January 24, 2008 07:33 EST
Jay Rockefeller's unintentionally revealing comments

.....................

Rockefeller added: "If people want to be mad, don't be mad at the telecommunications companies, who are restrained from saying anything at all under the State Secrets Act. And they really are. They can't say whether they were involved, they can't go to court, they can't do anything. They're just helpless. And the president was just having his way."

.............

Rockefeller's claim that telecoms can't submit exculpatory evidence to the court is flat-out false, an absolute lie. There is no other accurate way to describe his statement.

Under FISA (50 USC 1806(f)), telecoms are explicitly permitted to present any evidence in support of their defenses in secret (in camera, ex parte) to the judge and let the judge decide the case based on it. That section of long-standing law could not be clearer, and leaves no doubt that Rockefeller is simply lying when he says that telecoms are unable to submit secret evidence to the court to defend themselves.

...............

UPDATE V: There was some significant, and apparently unexpected, obstructionism on the part of Republicans this afternoon, whereby they blocked votes on any of the pending amendments and then filed a Motion for Cloture (i.e., to force a vote on the Senate Intelligence Committee bill as is), the vote on which will occur on Monday at 4:30 p.m. Supposedly, the obstructionism angered Reid and other Democrats and now Reid will not only support Dodd's filibuster but urge his caucus to do so as well.


more at:
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/01/24/rockefeller/index.html

[annabanana]

1. That is HUGE!! . . . . Reid will support Dodd's filibuster ?!?

The question is.. Is it because of the Repug Motion for Cloture? Or is it (at least partly) because of some of the heat they've been getting?

[kelligesq]

2. I could never figure out whether Jay Rockefeller was a good guy or a trilateral New World Order-now

I know.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

8. Always a TNWO. nt

[roguevalley]

15. he's a rockefeller. he can only resist so long.

[blogslut]

3. kick

:kick:

[VP505]

4. I hope Reid does

follow through with supporting Dodd, its the right thing to do. Why he though he could work with the RePukes and not come out the looser I will probably never figure out.

[NoodleyAppendage]

5. Or, Reid could be LYING as before to take the heat off until Monday.

It's not unheard of for our supposed Democratic leaders to throw the grassroots and citizenry a bone to tamp down the calls and citizen action and then just go ahead with their plan to fu*k over America.

J

[Elidor]

6. He damned well better support it!

So the rule of law means nothing to Harry, but someone pisses him off and now he's gonna take off the gloves? Out of spite? What a deeply stupid man. Even doing the right thing for the wrong reasons won't buy him any slack from me.

[Zodiak]

7. Look at the Democrats who are pro-warrantless spying on Americans

The pro-immunity, pro-warrantless eavesdropping Democrats: Rockefeller, Pryor, Inouye, McCaskill, Landrieu, Salazar, Nelson (FL), Nelson (NE), Mikulski, Carper, Bayh, and Johnson.


None of these supposed "Democrats" deserve our support. Ever.

[VP505]

9. I agree

:mad:

[Terry_M]

10. Yup, party unity be damned

What's the point if we end up with a bunch of senators paid off by the telecom industry. Are they THAT much better than the oil industry?

[wiggs]

11. If they remove immunity per Dodd...is the rest of the spying bill OK? I don't think so. nt

[MelissaB]

12. I've been in a pissy mood all afternoon since watching/listening to that hearing on CSPAN.

I hope he supports this filibuster.


Off to the greatest with ya.

[Blarch]

13. Doing the right thing...

only after you were shamed into it isn't very noble

[SnoopDog]

14. Reid's talk is cheap...it takes money to buy whiskey,,,

Meaning... lets see what the final vote is....