Bush Administration Vows Veto on Wiretap Law Without Immunity

WASHINGTON (AP)--The Bush administration vowed Tuesday to veto terrorist surveillance legislation being pushed by Senate Democrats that would not give retroactive legal protections to telecommunication providers who had allowed the government to spy on people in the United States.

The veto threat, detailed in a 12-page letter from Attorney General Michael Mukasey and National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell, was sent to the Senate as lawmakers grapple with how to update a 1978 surveillance law without violating privacy rights.

"If the president is sent a bill that does not provide the U.S. intelligence agencies the tools they need to protect the nation, the president will veto the bill," Mukasey and McConnell wrote in the letter. It was sent to Senate leaders and the top Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Judiciary and Intelligence committees.

Mukasey and McConnell's warning was aimed at legislative amendments that deny the retroactive immunity to phone and other telecom providers. The two men indicated they would support the overall bill, which was approved by the Senate Intelligence Committee and provides the legal shields, if the amendments were dropped.

"Although it is not perfect, it contains many important provisions, and was developed through a thoughtful process that resulted in a bill that helps ensure that both the lives and the civil liberties of Americans will be safeguarded," Mukasey and McConnell wrote.

Without the retroactive protections, the letter noted, telecom providers might be unwilling to help the government track down terror suspects in the future as they were asked to do in the days following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

"Private citizens who respond in good faith to a request for assistance by public officials should not beheld liable for their actions," Mukasey and McConnell wrote.

The Senate could vote on the surveillance bill - and amendments to it - this week.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

Posted to the site on 5th February 2008