Maybe this will help clarify why Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and other Members of Congress, are so supportive of the proposed FISA revisions, which will provide the telecom companies (and the Bush administration) full immunity from prosecution and civil suits.
I selected Rockefeller and McConnell because they were specifically named recently as providing their full support for the legislation. The other Members of Congress were selected solely based on their leadership position in Congress.
All information was derived from the top 20 contributors to each Senator or Representative. The first table is a summarization by individual for telecom only. Complete details of the top 20 contributors for each Member of Congress are after the jump.
Telecom Contributions - 2006
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Speaker of the House
Time Warner
$13,200
AT&T Inc
$13,000
Comcast Corp
$10,000
Communications Workers of America
$10,000
National Cable & Telecommunications Assn
$10,000
Total Pelosi
$56,200
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Chmn. Sen. Intell. Cmte.
AT&T Inc
$16,000
National Cable & Telecommunications Assn
$16,000
BellSouth Corp
$14,900
Total Rockefeller
$46,900
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-CA), House Majority Leader
AT&T Inc
$12,000
Comcast Corp
$10,000
National Cable & Telecommunications Assn
$10,000
Time Warner
$10,000
Total Hoyer
$42,000
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senate Minority Leader
Update I: I just discovered that the detail data supporting the summarized information is missing from the post. I know it was there when the post was initially published, but has since vanished. TPC’s new system is based entirely on a new set of publishing tools, which may have caused the problem - my error or program malfunction?? I will restore the detail information as soon as possible, which may not be until some time Sat. Time of this update: 10/20/07 1:35 AM ET.
Update II: Information on the top 20 contributors to each Member of Congress noted in the summary table above was restored as of 10/20/07 at 7:08 PM ET.
The telecom companies are declaring they are not complicit in the Bush-Cheney administration’s warrantless surveillance programs because they acted at the request of the government and were doing their patriotic duty to assist in Bush’s Global War on Terror.
Verizon said in its response [to Congress] that the burden should be on the government, not the phone companies, to establish that a request was proper and lawful.
“Such an approach is vital to ensure that providers are able to respond quickly to request for assistance,” Verizon said. “Placing the onus on the provider to determine whether the government is acting within the scope of its authority would inevitably slow lawful efforts to protect the public.”
Verizon and the other companies have acknowledged that they routinely comply with what Verizon called “lawful demands” for call records and access to phone lines. In 2006, the Verizon letter said, it received 88,000 such requests, about 34,000 from federal officials and 54,000 from state and local officials. Through September of this year, it received 24,000 federal requests and 37,000 state and local requests.
Well, in Dick Cheney’s vernacular, that’s just pure hogwash. I call it conspiracy in addition to committing the actual crimes themselves. Take a look at the statutes Glenn Greenwald cited that renders their patriotic defense null and void.
[Some] of our country’s richest, largest, most powerful and most well-connected corporations were caught breaking laws that have been in place for decades, such as Section 222 of the Communications Act of 1934, which provides that “[e]very telecommunications carrier has a duty to protect the confidentiality of proprietary information of . . . customers.” 18 U.S.C. 2511 makes warrantless eavesdropping a felony; 18 U.S.C. 2702 requires that any “entity providing an electronic communication service to the public shall not knowingly divulge to any person or entity the contents of a communication” without a court order; and 18 U.S.C. 2520 provides for civil damages for any violations.
There are 550 lawmakers in Washington, D.C. and only one of them — Chris Dodd — appears to have a working knowledge of the law, the motivation to defend it or just simply research the matter.
Who is the real patriot? Chris Dodd or the telecom companies?
Yesterday, Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey repudiated the notion of torture, saying it is “worse than a sin, it is a mistake” and that is “antithetical” to what America stands for.
Today Mukasey took a different position by twisting his answers and employing semantics. When asked by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy (D-VT), and more specifically by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), if waterboarding is torture, Mukasey refused to classify the practice as torture, saying it depened upon how torture is defined.
SEN. LEAHY: Is the current statue outlawing torture constitutional?
MUKASEY: I believe it is.
SEN. LEAHY: So if something was authorized outside that statue…that authorization is illegal?
MUKASEY: Correct.
SEN. WHITEHOUSE : Is waterboarding constitutional?
MUKASEY: I don’t know waht’s invovled in the technique. if waterboarding is torture, torture is not constitutional.
SEN. WHITEHOUSE : If waterboarding is constitutional is a massive hedge…Either it is or it isn’t. Do you have an opinion on whether waterboarding, which is the practice of putting somebody in a reclining position, strapping them down, put a cloth over their faces, and pouring water over the cloth to simulate the feeling of drowning. Is that constitutional?
MUKASEY: If it amounts to torture, it is not constitutional.
SEN. WHITEHOUSE : I am very disappointed in that answer. I think it is purely semantic.
MUKASEY: I’m sorry.
Watch the video:
Did Mukasey have dinner with Dick Cheney last night after the hearing?
The Yankees offered Manager Joe Torre a one-year deal with a base salary of $5 million and the chance to make another $3 million in performance bonuses. But after 12 years and 12 postseason appearances (including four World Series titles), Torre turned it down.
The Gavel has video highlights from today’s House debate on overriding President Bush’s veto of the SCHIP bill (H.R. 976)
Forty-four Republicans joined Democrats in voting for the override. Two Democrats —
Reps. Gene Taylor (MS) and Jim Marshall (GA) — sided with the president. You can read the Wall of Shame here.
Taking a swipe at the president, Speaker Pelosi said, “So when the President wants to have four or five million children instead of 10 million children in this initiative, is he the one, the ‘Decider,’ who wants to go to that family and say, ‘your child is out’?”
Rep. Rahm Emmanuel (D-IL) promised, "Democrats will not back down and we will insist on providing health care coverage to these 10 million children.” We’ll see how well Emmanuel sticks to his promises.
Senator Chris Dodd plans to put a hold on the Senate FISA renewal bill because it reportedly grants retroactive immunity to telephone companies for any role they played in the Bush administration’s warrantless eavesdropping program, Election Central has learned.
Dodd will send a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid this afternoon informing him of his decision. Dodd also plans to put up a page today at his campaign Web site where opponents of the immunity provision can register their opposition.
Dodd’s responsible action may give him a much needed boost in his bid for the presidency. He has been struggling in the polls. This also raises a pertinent question — where have Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama been and why haven’t they assumed a leadership position?
If you think it’s important for Dodd to place a hold on any crappy telecom immunity bill that the Senate comes up with, call Dodd campaign headquarters and request they do it. Ask to speak to the policy director, Amos Hochstein.
Dodd campaign headquarters telephone number:
(202)737-3633
Be polite.
The issue is that (bizarrely) placing a hold is the best way to muck things up in the Senate. And it only takes one senator.
Doddmania’s been bubbling up for awhile now. This could be its moment.
Update II: I contacted Sen. Dodd’s office and they confirmed that Dodd officially put a hold on the bill at 3:00 PM ET.
Update III: Barack Obama comes out against immunity for the telecom companies.
“I have consistently opposed this Administration’s efforts to use debates about our national security to expand its own power, whether that was on the Iraq war, or on its power grab to curb our civil liberties through domestic surveillance programs. It is time to restore oversight and accountability in the FISA program, and this proposal — with an unprecedented grant of retroactive immunity — is not the place to start.”
Supporters of a bill to provide health insurance for 10 million children failed this afternoon, as expected, to muster enough support in the House to override President Bush?s veto.
The vote to override the veto was 273 to 156, or 13 votes short of the necessary two-thirds majority of those present and voting; the bill was originally approved by a 265 to 159 vote on Sept. 25.
The main suspense before today?s vote was over how many Republicans would side against President Bush. Forty-four House Republicans voted for the bill today, compared to 45 on Sept. 25.
Democrats continue to prove they don’t have a spine, much less know what one is. From the Washington Post:
“Senate Democrats and Republicans reached agreement with the Bush administration yesterday on the terms of new legislation to control the federal government’s domestic surveillance program, which includes a highly controversial grant of legal immunity to telecommunications companies that have assisted the program, according to congressional sources.
Disclosure of the deal followed a decision by House Democratic leaders to pull a competing version of the measure from the floor because they lacked the votes to prevail over Republican opponents and GOP parliamentary maneuvers.
The Washington Times’ piece today indicates just how weak the Democratic Congress is.
House Democrats, confounded by a Republican procedural maneuver that would force an embarrassing vote on terrorism, yesterday called off a vote on an electronic-surveillance bill that the White House opposes.
Republicans would have forced Democrats either to vote to effectively kill the bill that restricts federal wiretap power or to vote against authorizing the government to spy on Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda and other foreign terrorist groups.
They’re scared to death George Bush is going to resort to name calling. What brave and courageous Patriots our Democratic Leaders are.
Not only do the major telecom companies get immunity, so does the entire Bush administration. Congress is about to let the Bush administration get away with the most egregious lawbreaking by any president in history.
FISA isn’t the only area Congress continues to be ineffective.
Almost a year after vowing to protect millions of middle-income families from a special tax meant for millionaires, Democratic leaders are still struggling to find ways to raise the billions of dollars needed to fix the problem.
In a series of meetings and interviews yesterday, lawmakers reiterated their determination to prevent the alternative minimum tax from imposing a major tax increase on 23 million American households this year.
The Relevance of an Irrelevant President
President Bush’s news conference yesterday.
President Bush on Wednesday criticized a Congress that has not “managed to pass many important bills” and is “just getting started” on funding bills.
At the beginning of a White House press conference, Bush launched an attack against Democrats for not doing enough to get the nation’s business done.
“There’s little time left in the year, and Congress has little to show for all the time that has gone by,” the president said.
Bush hammered Democrats on sending him State Children’s Health Insurance Program legislation that they knew would be vetoed, trying to make changes to legislation updating the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and failing to pass appropriations bills.
“Congress has more important work to do than antagonizing a democratic ally in the Muslim world, especially one that’s providing vital support for our military every day,” he said.
Asked if it was all the Democrats’ fault that bills are not moving, especially with regard to veto threats from the White House on several key pieces of legislation, Bush said he believes it is.
“I’m not part of the legislative branch,” the president said. “All I can do is ask them to move bills. It’s up to the leaders to move the bills.”
And by all means, don’t miss Mr. Bush’s narcissistic statements position on remaining relevant.
Judge Mukasey and the Senate Confirmation Hearings
Attorney general nominee Michael B. Mukasey said yesterday that he would chart an independent path for the Justice Department after the tumultuous tenure of Alberto R. Gonzales, testifying that he would not be afraid to disagree with the president and would resign rather than implement policies that he believed violated the Constitution.
Mukasey, appearing for the first day of hearings before a generally friendly Senate Judiciary Committee, also said the president cannot use his powers as commander in chief to “override” prohibitions against using torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading conduct in the interrogation of prisoners.
“Are you prepared to resign if the president were to violate your advice and in your view violate the Constitution?” asked Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.). Mukasey responded: “That would present me with a difficult but not a complex problem. I could either try to talk him out of it or leave.”
Michael B. Mukasey, the former federal judge expected to win confirmation as attorney general, vowed to end allegations of political meddling at the Justice Department by ensuring that hiring decisions are made without regard to partisan affiliation.
A test could come quickly. If confirmed, he will soon have to decide what to do about the stalled nomination of Craig Morford, the acting deputy attorney general who, until recently, appeared set to get the nod to be the Justice Department’s No. 2.
Mr. Morford, a 48-year-old former assistant U.S. attorney in Cleveland, has been the department’s parachuting troubleshooter for years, and he hasn’t been afraid to ruffle feathers. In August, when he was named as acting deputy, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales gave him a mandate to act like a chief operating officer hired to fix a company in crisis. That was one month before Mr. Gonzales resigned from the top job.
By an overwhelming margin, Turkey’s parliament on Wednesday authorized military raids into northern Iraq in pursuit of Kurdish rebels who have attacked Turkish targets.
The vote added to rising tensions in the region, with Iraqi Kurdish forces, known as peshmerga, going on high alert, although senior Turkish officials indicated that no invasion was imminent.
A State Department review of private security guards for diplomats in Iraq is unlikely to recommend firing Blackwater USA over the deaths of 17 Iraqis last month, but the company probably is on the way out of that job, U.S. officials said Wednesday.
Blackwater’s work escorting U.S. diplomats outside the protected Green Zone in Baghdad expires in May, one official said, and other officials told the Associated Press they expect the North Carolina company will not continue to work for the embassy after that.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that direct dialogue was a better way of easing the diplomatic crisis over Iran’s nuclear ambitions than the threat of military force or sanctions.
Putin, speaking at an annual question-and-answer session, brushed aside a reported plot to kill him on a visit to Tehran last week.
Benazir Bhutto, the Pakistani opposition leader and former prime minister, arrived in Pakistan this afternoon, ending her eight-year exile in a return that is expected to reconfigure the country’s already unsettled political landscape.
She stepped down onto the tarmac at Karachi airport at around 2 p.m. local time after a flight from Dubai, wearing a green shalwar kameez — a traditional Muslim outfit — and white headscarf, the colors of the Pakistani flag.
The man known as Chemical Ali for ordering poison gas attacks against the Kurds in the 1980s has been flown by helicopter from a U.S. base to a site near a prison gallows in Baghdad, according to an Iraqi police official, suggesting that his execution was imminent.
The prisoner, Ali Hassan al-Majid, a cousin of Saddam Hussein, was sentenced to death on June 24 for his role in the Anfal campaign that killed as many as 180,000 Kurds.
Bank of America Corp. posted a 32% drop in third-quarter net income as the company recorded $247 million in write-downs related to leveraged buyout loans, $607 million in trading losses and sharply higher credit-loss provisions.
Shares slumped in premarket trading, falling to $48 from Wednesday’s close of $50.03.
The nation’s No. 2 bank by market capitalization, which hadn’t given write-down and loss projections guidance like many of its rivals, reported net income of $3.7 billion, or 82 cents a share, compared with $5.42 billion, or $1.18 a share, a year earlier. In addition to the write-down and trading losses, Bank of America recorded $2.03 billion in credit-loss provisions, compared with $1.17 billion a year earlier. Revenue fell 12% to $16.3 billion.
Media conglomerates are probably the greatest danger to freedom of the press and maintaining a true Fourth Estate. One needs to look no further than FOX News Noise to understand why.
The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission is proposing a plan that would wrap up by the end of the year the long-running debate over how many media properties a company should be allowed to own in a single market.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin’s proposal would allow for public comment on the proposed rules in mid-November and a commission vote on Dec. 18.
Among the rules that are potentially on the chopping block is a ban on one company owning a newspaper and broadcast station in the same market. The rule is of particular interest to Tribune Co., which is the subject of a pending buyout led by real estate magnate Sam Zell.
A group of Internet, media and technology companies plans to announce today a set of guidelines they have agreed on aimed at protecting copyrights online, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The companies supporting the principles include CBS Corp., Dailymotion, Microsoft Corp., NBC Universal, News Corp.’s Fox and MySpace units, Viacom Inc. and Walt Disney Co., the familiar person says. Notably absent is Google Inc., which had been in discussions about possibly joining the group, people familiar with the matter say.
The guidelines are meant to address copyright-related issues that have flared up as user posting of content — particularly video — to the Web has boomed.
The agreed-upon principles include using technology to eliminate copyright-infringing content uploaded by users to Web sites, and blocking any infringing material before it is publicly accessible, says the person familiar with the matter.
Google on Monday unveiled technology it has been testing to automate the identification of copyrighted material on its YouTube video-sharing service. It said the technology cannot yet prevent infringing content from being posted initially, though it can pull flagged content off the site “in a matter of a few minutes.”
Viacom in March sued Google, alleging willful copyright infringement by YouTube and claiming over $1 billion in damages. Google has said that it complies with U.S. law by removing any infringing video clips when requested by the content owners.
I will be posting a TPC Round shortly. There has been a lot of activity over the past 24 hours and I want to make sure we capture at least the highlights. Having to deal with implementing significant site changes yesterday certainly hasn’t helped.
While I finish working on the roundup, let me briefly point you to a couple of important items.
Congress is rapidly losing its grip, if they ever had it. They are on the verge of giving President Bush everything he wants on the FISA revisions bill, including amnesty for him, his administration, and the major telecom companies that put big bucks into the pockets of his campaigns. It is unconscionable of Congress to do so for many reasons, most of which I have already written about. (More here or here) More on that to come, but in the interim you might want to read the latest piece from the Post. You might also want to get a different perspective on the issue by reading the Washington Times’ piece.
Senate confirmation hearings on Judge Mukasey continue today. Live coverage on C-SPAN3 and streaming video.
Turkey has approved attacks on northern Iraq. Nothing’s happened yet, but there is little doubt the Middle East is as unstable as it has been in many years — more than I can remember. And to top it off, George Bush just could not resist referencing World War III in his press conference yesterday just to insure America and the rest of the world recognize he is relevant.
I would like to do a TPC Roundup everyday, but it is very labor and resource intensive, which would take away from detail coverage of important issues. It can’t be whipped out in a matter of 30 minutes to one hour. If TPC had more resources, then that would be a priority…I’ll talk about that more later.
You are currently browsing the The Political Chase weblog archives for the day Thursday, October 18th, 2007.
