[Infowarrior] - White House says phone wiretaps back on "for now"

[Richard Forno]

White House says phone wiretaps back on "for now"
Sat Feb 23, 2008 7:35pm EST
 
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN2229053420080224

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration said on Saturday U.S.
telecommunications companies have agreed to cooperate "for the time being"
with spy agencies' wiretaps, despite an ongoing battle between the White
House and Congress over new terrorism surveillance legislation.

The Justice Department and the Office of the Director of National
Intelligence issued a joint statement saying wiretaps will resume under the
current law "at least for now."

"Although our private partners are cooperating for the time being, they have
expressed understandable misgivings about doing so in light of the ongoing
uncertainty and have indicated they may well discontinue cooperation if the
uncertainty persists," the statement said.

On Friday U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey and Director of National
Intelligence Michael McConnell said telecommunications firms have been
reluctant to cooperate with new wiretaps since six-month temporary
legislation expired last weekend. As a result, they told Congress, spy
agencies have missed intelligence.

Democrats accused the Bush administration of fear-mongering and blamed it
for any gaps.

President George W. Bush has said he would not compromise with the
Democratic-led Congress on his demand that phone companies be shielded from
lawsuits for taking part in his warrantless domestic spying program.

The measure passed by the Senate would provide retroactive lawsuit immunity
to firms which cooperated with warrantless wiretaps that Bush authorized
after the September 11 attacks. But the House of Representatives has opposed
it, and Democratic leaders of both chambers said they would try to find a
compromise.

Democratic leaders of congressional intelligence and judiciary committees
issued a statement on Friday saying they were committed to passing new
legislation and urged Bush to support an extension of the temporary law.
Bush has said he would hold out for a permanent overhaul of the 1978
surveillance law.

(Editing by Stuart Grudgings)