Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

House of Representatives To Discuss Wiretapping In Closed Session

Posted by Soulskill on from the maybe-they-are-trying-to-be-ironic dept.

Nimey brings word that for the first time in 25 years, the US House of Representatives will use a closed-door session to discuss proposed wiretapping legislation. The old legislation expired last month when government officials could not agree on retroactive immunity for the telecommunications providers who assisted with the wiretaps. The most recent version of the bill, proposed by House democrats, does not include telecom immunity. Because of that, President Bush has stated his willingness to veto the bill. The Yahoo article notes, "The closed-door debate was scheduled for late Thursday night, after the House chamber could be cleared and swept by security personnel to make sure there are no listening devices."

2 of 264 comments (clear)

  1. Attention: "security personel" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    We would absolutely love it if you would get a tape and give it to wikileaks. Or Youtube. Or John Stewart.

  2. Re:But it is a matter of principle by jonberling · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I don't think it was ignorance. I use to be an intelligence analyst for the US Army. When I first heard about the wire tapping program (I'd had only been out for about a year) the first thing that came to my mind is "Holy crap, that must have been illegal!" We were clearly briefed about what we could and couldn't listen to. Domestic calls were 100% off limit. US Citizens, in the US, calling someone in a foreign country were also protected. The reason: the US military isn't used against US citizens (unless martial law is declared). We have law enforcement separate from the military for a reason. If it were the FBI instead of the NSA doing the wiretaps, I think it wouldn't have been as big a issue (At lease at the time I though that, I'm not sure if I think that now.)