February 12, 2008

Telecom immunity passes

Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall | Surveillance Bill Passes Senate:
"The Democratic-controlled Senate just passed the surveillance bill, 68-29.

As we have mentioned through the day and covered extensively at TPMmuckraker, most of the civil-liberties-friendly amendments to the bill failed. Retroactive immunity for telecoms survived."
Russ Feingold is not happy.

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In other news, the administration is going to try 6 suspected terrorists at Gitmo and evidently if convicted they could be executed and buried there. Some suspect mostly to keep their cases away from federal courts. Because, you see, we have the best justice system in the world. Our administration simply doesn't believe in it. So much so that they evidently sent in a second team after some of the 6 were tortured to give the facade of acceptable evidence. They are called the "Clean Team." They clean up bad interrogations.

And we are exporting this democracy to others? Don't places like Syria already do this shit?

3 comments:

steves said...

Unlike a lot of what this administration has done, the trying of foreign nationals under these circumstances is allowable under US law and case law. FDR did it to saboteurs that were caught in the US during WWII

Streak said...

Perhaps. I don't think it takes away from my point that this administration holds our judicial system in contempt. And the fact that several, if not all, were tortured doesn't help matters.

And I would also point out that the legality of this trial is only partially relevant. The issue here is perception and our international credibility is so low now anyway, I think whatever we do there will be seen as a kangaroo court.

steves said...

I agree, but I just wanted to point out that there was some degree of legality. I should also point out that FDR allowed the accused to have lawyers, whereas Bush did not.

I am not comfortable with the current level of due process, combined with the death penalty. OTOH, I don't know if putting them through the federal court system, with years of appeals, is the best thing.