Cardin, Mikulski split over immunity in FISA bill

U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski: Getty Images PhotoU.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Baltimore) and U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Baltimore) may split on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Amendments Act of 2008, which is scheduled to be voted on later this the week.

“Tomorrow, I will vote for the amendments that strike or amend the provision granting retroactive immunity to telecommunication companies in the FISA Amendments Act. Many of these companies cooperated with the government in good faith, and they deserve some relief, but it should be up to the Courts and not the President or the Congress to decide whether the law was broken,” said Cardin in a statement. “If these amendments do not pass, I intend to cast my vote against the final bill.”

Sen. Mikulski said Tuesday she would support the FISA legislation: “As a United States Senator, I have two responsibilities: to protect the American people and to protect the privacy and civil liberties of American citizens. This bill, which modernizes and reforms the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), accomplishes both. It gives our intelligence community the tools it needs to disrupt terrorist plots while safeguarding the civil liberties of American citizens.”

Where Mikulski and Cardin split is their stance regarding the granting of retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies which may have violated laws by helping the government eavesdrop on Americans. The Dodd-Feingold-Leahy amendment, which Cardin plans to vote in favor of, would effectively strike immunity for telecommunications companies.

U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin: Getty Images Photo“Granting retroactive immunity to the telecommunication companies creates a dangerous precedent for future Administrations and private actors to violate the law, and then ask forgiveness through an after-the-fact amnesty or a pardon,” said Cardin.

Mikulski differed on the matter: “There are important concerns about granting targeted liability protection to the telecom companies who cooperated with the Bush Administration in the days following 9/11. Let me be clear – this is not immunity for any individual – this is narrowly targeted just for the telecommunications companies.”