Congressional Leaders Agree to Major Change in Domestic Surveillance Law

JUne 20, 2008— -- House and Senate leaders have agreed to acompromise surveillance bill that would effectively shield fromcivil lawsuits the telecommunications companies that helped thegovernment wiretap phone and computer lines after the Sept. 11terrorist attacks without court permission.

The House was expected to pass the bill Friday, potentiallyending a monthslong standoff about the rules for governmentwiretapping inside the United States.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said the bill"balances the needs of our intelligence community with Americans'civil liberties and provides critical new oversight andaccountability requirements."

The issue of legal protection for telecommunications companiesthat participated in warrantless wiretapping has been the largeststicking point. The Senate passed a bill that immunized them fromlawsuits, but the House bill was silent on the matter.

The White House had threatened to veto any bill that did notshield the companies, which tapped lines at the behest of thepresident and attorney general but without permission from aspecial court established for that purpose, the ForeignIntelligence Surveillance Court.

On Thursday, White House spokesmanTony Fratto said the bill met the standards sought by Bush and thatthe president supported it.

Warrantless wiretapping went on for almost six years until itwas revealed by The New York Times. Some 40 lawsuits have beenfiled against the companies by people and groups who think thegovernment illegally eavesdropped on them.

The compromise bill would have a federal district court reviewcertifications from the attorney general saying thetelecommunications companies received presidential orders tellingthem wiretaps were needed to detect or prevent a terrorist attack.If the paperwork were in order, the judge would dismiss thelawsuit.

Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri, the second-ranking Republican,predicted all the cases would go away.

Under the compromise, the district judge would for the firsttime be allowed to read the top-secret letters from Bushadministration officials - usually the attorney general - to thecompanies requesting domestic wiretaps without court orders,according to Democratic aides. Each company got around 40 suchletters, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity because ofthe sensitivity of the matter.