Bush’s Christmas in July: Senate Passes FISA

Staff / Truthdig Jul 10, 2008 You know a legislative compromise is one-sided when the AP headline announcing its passage reads "Senate Bows to Bush." Democratic advocates of the new FISA bill, passed by the Senate on Wednesday, are still trying to explain what they got in exchange for rolling back a few civil liberties and burying some of the president's abuses. When they figure it out, someone, somewhere, will surely be listening. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

How to Steal an Election With the Help of FISA

Staff / Truthdig Jul 3, 2008 There's a lot more to object to in the new FISA bill than just retroactive immunity for the telecoms. It seems that the regulation of surveillance is still hopelessly out of date. How is a court supposed to handle complex algorithms and countless terabytes of data? Truthdig contributor Elliot Cohen warns that the new law could conceivably allow the theft of the 2008 presidential election. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Private Contractors in Iraq to Lose Immunity

Staff / Truthdig Jul 2, 2008 The folks at Blackwater and other private security outfits in Iraq encountered a dramatic setback Wednesday after an Iraqi minister announced that private guards will no longer be given immunity from U.S military and Iraqi law, ending more than five years of unregulated mercenary violence in the country. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Obama and McCain’s FISA Flip-Flop

Staff / Truthdig Jun 27, 2008 Michael Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights has the goods on the new FISA bill, which offers retroactive immunity to the telecoms and allows the government to spy on Americans without a warrant. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

House Lets Telecoms Off the Hook

Staff / Truthdig Jun 21, 2008 If there was one word that summed up the political tenor of the Bush II presidency, it definitely wouldn't be accountability. On Friday, this was once again made clear as the House of Representatives passed a bill granting retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that allowed their networks to be used by the government to eavesdrop on Americans following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Torture’s Poet Laureate

Staff / Truthdig Apr 2, 2008 A recently declassified memo shines the spotlight once again on John "Take Them to the Point of Death" Yoo, a UC Berkeley law professor and once deputy legal counsel in the Justice Department. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Dodd to the Rescue

Staff / Truthdig Dec 19, 2007 Sen. Chris Dodd just put his money where his mouth has been in the presidential campaign, filibustering a nasty bit of legislation the Senate tried to push through before the Christmas break. Here he tells MSNBC why giving retroactive immunity to the telecom companies for spying on Americans is a bad thing. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

America Is Watching You

Elliot D. Cohen / Truthdig Oct 31, 2007 The "Last Days of Democracy" author warns that Congress is about to aid the Bush administration with its Orwellian plans by granting retroactive immunity to the telecommunications giants for helping the government spy on Americans. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

State Dept. Gave Blackwater Shooters Immunity

Staff / Truthdig Oct 30, 2007 Three senior law enforcement officials have revealed to the Associated Press that the State Department gave all of the Blackwater guards involved in the Sept. 16 killing of 17 Iraqi civilians immunity from prosecution. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Bush: Protect America, or at Least Its Telecom Companies

Staff / Truthdig Oct 11, 2007 First we had "Operation Iraqi Freedom." Then came the Patriot Act. And now, President Bush has co-opted another vague term that's hard to argue with, emptied it of its intended significance, and altered it to mean "let big telecom companies that aided the administration in its dubious wiretapping activities off the hook." Yes, folks, this latest round of rhetorical gymnastics has brought us "the Protect America Act." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Iraq to America: We Need Security–Against Your Soldiers

Staff / Truthdig Jul 11, 2006 Iraq will ask the United Nations to end immunity from local law for US troops, reports Reuters Iraq's human rights minister says the lack of enforcement of U military law has led to crimes like the rape-murder allegedly committed by five U soldiers. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )