Steven Holt: “almost before the ink was dry on the February 22 letter to Intelligence Chairman Reyes claiming that the…”

“almost before the ink was dry on the February 22 letter to Intelligence Chairman Reyes claiming that the telecommunications companies were balking at their surveillance support requests, the DNI and Attorney General were forced to admit that the companies were, in fact, cooperating with the U.S. Government surveillance activities. It is not simple patriotic duty; it's the law. They must cooperate. Under FISA, if they're compelled to cooperate, they are automatically provided immunity. The truth is that the only time FISA phone taps have been turned off lately is when the President failed to pay the FBI phone bills. If you don't believe me, look at the Inspector General's report of the Department of Justice in 2008 this year. The real issue before us is this: How do we produce law that provides us better intelligence and safeguards Americans' liberties? The answer is we've done it through the RESTORE Act, and the sooner that House-passed bill becomes the law of the land, the better. Requiring the government to apply to a court and demonstrate to a standard of probable cause that they know what they're doing not only protects the liberty of Americans, it produces better intelligence.”