Obama to Vote on Wiretaps; Critics Say He's Flip-Flopped on the Issue

By: Maria Gavrilovic
Topics: Barack Obama

(CBS)

From CBS News' Maria Gavrilovic:

(WASHINGTON) Barack Obama is on Capitol Hill today, where he is expected to vote for the compromise bill that would overhaul the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). He has come under fire in recent weeks for supporting the bill, which exempts telecommunications companies from lawsuits stemming from wiretapping cases.

Obama had initially opposed retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies in the bill, however he decided to support it after a compromise version of the bill was created. Critics from the right and left have hammered him on blogs and in press releases accusing him of flip-flopping on the issue. At a press conference in Chicago last month, Obama defended his decision, saying that the bill has changed but security threats have not.

"My view on FISA has always been that the issue with phone companies per se is not one that overrides security interests of the American people," he said, adding that there should be more accountability when it comes to wiretaps.

Last week Obama addressed about the bill on his blog. "I know that the FISA bill that passed the House is far from perfect. I wouldn't have drafted the legislation like this," he wrote. However, Obama said the FISA compromise bill was better than the Protect America Act that he voted for last year.

He also told supporters that he understands their disagreement with his decision. "And going forward, some of you may decide that my FISA position is a deal breaker. That's ok.," Obama wrote, "But I think it is worth pointing out that our agreement on the vast majority of issues that matter outweighs the differences we may have."

After the FISA vote this afternoon, Obama heads to New York for a fund-raiser with Hillary Clinton.

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by davidmmyles July 11, 2008 4:58 PM EDT: Lastly

Revelations from Sen. Feingold:

"I sit on the Intelligence and Judiciary Committees, and I am one of the few members of this body who has been fully briefed on the warrantless wiretapping program. And, based on what I know, I can promise that if more information is declassified about the program in the future, as is likely to happen either due to the Inspector General report, the election of a new President, or simply the passage of time, members of this body will regret that we passed this legislation. I am also familiar with the collection activities that have been conducted under the Protect America Act and will continue under this bill. I invite any of my colleagues who wish to know more about those activities to come speak to me in a classified setting. Publicly, all I can say is that I have serious concerns about how those activities may have impacted the civil liberties of Americans. If we grant these new powers to the government and the effects become known to the American people, we will realize what a mistake it was, of that I am sure."; Reply to this comment


by davidmmyles July 11, 2008 4:53 PM EDT: to Hemi head

The new statute permits the NSA to intercept phone calls and e-mails between the U.S. and a foreign location, without making any showing to a court and without judicial oversight, whether or not the communication has anything to do with al Qaeda -- indeed, even if there is no evidence that the communication has anything to do with terrorism, or any threat to national security.

The most overlooked fact in the entire FISA debate -- the aspect of it that renders incoherent the case in favor of the new FISA law or even those who dismiss its significance -- is that virtually nobody knows what the spying program they''re immunizing entailed and towards what ends it was used -- i.e., whether it was abused for improper purposes. Even those who acknowledge that the warrantless spying program was illegal like to assert that it was implemented for benign and proper counter-terrorism purposes (see Kevin Drum making that claim here) -- but they have absolutely no idea whether that is true. None. Zero. To assert that is simply to make assertions with no basis whatsoever.; Reply to this comment


by davidmmyles July 11, 2008 4:51 PM EDT: To all the senators that voted for FISA

Your vote on the FISA bill raises serious concern over your commitment to protect and defend the constitution of the United States. In an era that has seen the erosion of many of the rights of our citizenry; you have effectively subverted the law in order to grant immunity to criminals that have committed over 30 federal felonies. You took an oath sir. I am amazed that anyone needs remind you of that fact. Your job is to protect us from criminals not legitimize their crimes. There can be no excuse for this. The words %u201Caccessory after the fact%u201D spring to mind.

Celebrate democracy by showing us that no man is above the law. Show your commitment to the American people by pushing to prosecute these criminals.

Represent us.

Please.

To all of you reading this please contact your representatives to protest this travesty.; Reply to this comment


by larysinclair July 9, 2008 10:19 PM EDT: Obama just trampled on the constitution,...way to go Obama!! Please turn in your "Constitional Lawyer" badge at the door!!!!!!!!!!!!
Obama-bots, put down the signs, put down the Kool-Aid and let''s get back to reality!!

Nobama,...ever!!!!!!!!!!!!; Reply to this comment


by chuckamok July 9, 2008 9:39 PM EDT: Obama is trying to look like he''s moving to the middle, while Hillary - "freed" of any need to pander for NATIONAL votes - is moving back to the far left, from whence she came.

Ain''t politics fun?; Reply to this comment


by HemiHead66 July 9, 2008 8:19 PM EDT: After what Bush has done in the Middle East, I think the extra security is going to be needed. One thing I don''t understand is Telecom immunity. Why do they need it in the first place. What kind of crime is everyone talking about. I worry more about the warrant less wire taps than the immunity. Our government shouldn''t be allowed to spy on people just for the fun of it. The media has twisted this story so much, I don''t even know what part of the bill Obama voted for, and against anymore. Even if he did move to the center, nobody flip flops more than John McCain.; Reply to this comment


by cbsespo July 9, 2008 7:05 PM EDT: Ithink his position is totally rational.; Reply to this comment


by elevando July 9, 2008 5:40 PM EDT: Forget this spin about the McCain flip-flop. Are you kidding me?

What are we going to do about holding Obama to his 16 month Iraq withdrawl commitment? If he moves on this, he will have completely undercut his base. This coming after his support of FISA is unbelievable.

Again, Americans don''t want to vote for a celebrity, they want a public servent with integurity, something that Obama is lacking the last couple weeks. I can''t believe how Obama completely used the far left, claiming he was about "change" and a new way of politics. He completely, unapologetically used us.

And I don''t want to hear that Obama would be way better than McCain, especially when John Kerry was thinking about making McCain is VP choice in 04.

What are you even about, Obama?

Don''t insult Americans by claiming they haven''t been listening to what you''ve been saying. That is complete BS, so dont ram it down our throats.; Reply to this comment


by ariel133 July 9, 2008 4:20 PM EDT: "Obama has seemed to move towards the center on a number of highly-charged issues in recent weeks, among them gun control, the intelligence bill known as FISA, and, to some extent, his plan for withdrawing troops from Iraq. Polls suggest that despite the stark differences between dueling advocacy groups over abortion, a middle ground exists should Obama want to seek it out."

NOTHING LIKE THE MEDIA GIVING THIS IDIOT A FREE PASS ON EVERYTHING. I CAN''T WAIT UNTIL HE FALLS FLAT ON HIS FACE. THAT DAY WILL COME. WATCH & SEE; Reply to this comment