"Dismissal via amnesty would ensure that their spying behavior stays permanently concealed, buried forever, and as importantly, that no court ever rules on the legality of what they did."

I understand that amnesty would shield the telecoms from prosecution, but would it also permanently conceal the extent of their support to the government?

Immunity/amnesty would make it impossible for civil or criminal suits to be pursued against telcoms, so there could be no discovery that would reveal such secrets. They could, I suppose reveal them voluntarily. But why would they, seeing as it would likely make for terrible publicity, and there's no positive outcome to be gained?

I suppose that such suits could be filed against administration officials, either by injured third parties or a Democratic DoJ, which could compel telcoms to reveal these secrets. But that assumes that Bush doesn't grant prospective pardons to all involved administration officials before leaving office. And pretty much everyone expects him to do so.

Which leaves impeachment, but let's not go there. Someone had to clear her "table"...

Perhaps there are alternative means of getting at this information that neither immunity nor pardons can completely prevent, but I can't think of any. Anyone have any clues? Otherwise, BushCo will have successfully done an end run not only around the constitution, but around one of its most vital and cherished parts (sorry gun lovers, the 4th is more important than the 2nd).

Perhaps if new evidence emerges during the next administration that suggests that people who could not plausibly have been connected to terrorism were illegally and intentionally spied upon under this program, and that administration was Democratic, congress could overturn any retroactive immunity that this congress might pass, and open up criminal investigations. But I don't know about the legality of that--can immunity be revoked, either persuant to new evidence, or for any reason? Or is there a "double jeopardy" rule that prevents this?

In any case, immunity would be a terrible thing to pass, especially with THIS president, and a Democratic congress. It would be unbelievably pathetic and despicable, and a terrible precedent.

I have been reading that Obama Supports and gets support from many people that he doesn't want his picture taken with.

Why did the Senate agree to retroactive corporate immunity with 98 out of 100 senators voting in favor, and only two Republicans voting against it??

There was a brief mention of some documents that were shown to the Senate committee but not the House .. Is the Senate that spineless?

68, not 98 senators voted for the FISA bill with immunity, and none of them were Pubs. I share your frustration but not your facts. ;-)

There is blood on your hands for reporting this crap. Merely presenting your readership with this information doesn't absolve you of the responsibility to act. It is truly amazing to read all the accounts of wrongdoings by the Bush administration and yet nothing ever changes. Congress, the courts, the American people and the press, everyone just sits and takes getting bitch-slapped everyday. You are closest to the corruption, yet you simply stand there and let it happen to someone else. A bunch of cowards with a keyboard trying to get cash and recognition. Journalists Suck!

Kovie: No one's likely to lose their seat this year because the GOP is claiming that Dems don't want the government to listen to Al Qaida. The voters just aren't buying it anymore.

The question is, does the Dem leadership know this, or care?

The right-wing noise machine is really going full-tilt BS mode over FISA, obviously trying to scare red-state dems into supporting immunity.

The House Democratic leadership (despite Pelosi's staffer assuring me that the Speaker is "unequivocally opposed" to telecom immunity-- exactly what Reid's staffer told me last month) seems to have taken the bait. Hoyer's statement that immunity is "obviously important for us to consider" leads me to believe that retroactive amnesty will reach the floor, in which case we'll have a situation eerily similar to last month's senate cave-in, wherein the entire house GOP will vote in lock-step while peeling away enough chickenshit red-state Democrats for it to be a done deal. In the end, responsibility for this travesty will belong to Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi & Steny Hoyer.

It would be nice if, as you hope, they get something in exchange from the telcos for immunity. But if the prize isn't big & juicy enough (which I have no doubt full disclosure would be) to land Bush, Cheney, & Addington immediately out of office and into orange jumpsuits, it would just be something for the leadership to cover their asses with.

Glenn,your article should be read by every member of Congress. I hope they exhibit some guts and reject amnesty. George W. may still be relaxing within his guarded Houston Citadel(will he every have the gall to walk the streets again?)by the time the lawsuits get settled.

How could the Democratic congress reject several chances to blow this FISA thing in 2007 and 2008 so far? And what about making sure that the permanent secrecy in Exec Branch documents installed by Bush, esp. Presidential records is eliminated by the new Congress ASAP?

On the Civil Liberties issue along, Obama gets my vote.

How could the American public the terrorist canard to justify elimination of civil liberties for 8 years? Unfortunately, no matter who wins in November, we will be picking up the pieces for the foreseeable future, until we have a different Supreme Court.

It amazes me that the press is still willing to ask "President Cornpone" questions on anything. Why would a member of the press ask the guy who has destroyed the US's global leadership and reputation anything about foreign affairs? Why would he be asked for an opinion on the economy when he's overseen a government that has taken surpluses and turned them into the biggest deficits in our history, seen the dollar tumble in value, and seen prices of products and services go through the roof? Why? The press has been covering for this lunatic Cheney/bush administration since even before they came to power. From the get go, they were vastly overrated and now we see the fruits of their incompetence; and the press still seeks their advice? My bet; the press will deliver us another white male president in November!