Jay Rockefeller: “I appreciate and agree with the sentiment of Senator Specter and Senator Whitehouse that the government--not the…”

“I appreciate and agree with the sentiment of Senator Specter and Senator Whitehouse that the government--not the providers who operated in good faith with them--should be held responsible for the legal fallout from the President's warrantless surveillance program. But this amendment lays out a remarkably complicated litigation procedure that is unlikely to achieve any meaningful review of the President's program. Under this amendment, if the Attorney General submits a certification to the district court that an individual carrier provided assistance in connection with the President's program or did not provide assistance, the district court certifies a question to the FISA Court. The FISA Court is then required to determine whether the carrier cooperated with existing law, or acted in good faith and pursuant to an objectively reasonable belief that the written request was legal. If the FISA Court makes that finding, the government is substituted for the carrier in the district court. At that point, litigation continues against the government under several different possible statutes, and the provider is dismissed from the suit.”