Bush urges telecom immunity in proposed surveillance bill News
Bush urges telecom immunity in proposed surveillance bill

[JURIST] US President George W. Bush Wednesday called for Congress to make permanent [press release] the expansion of surveillance powers granted in August's Protect America Act [S 1927 materials], adding that he would not sign any eavesdropping bill that does not grant retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies facing lawsuits related to government eavesdropping that was conducted without a court order. Bush's demand comes a day after House Democrats introduced [JURIST report] the RESTORE Act of 2007 ("Responsible Electronic Surveillance That is Overseen, Reviewed and Effective Act of 2007") [draft text, PDF; summary, PDF], which would replace the Protect America Act as an update to the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) [text; JURIST news archive]. The temporary Protect America Act [RESTORE vs. PAA comparison, PDF] is set to expire in February. Its six-month lifespan was a compromise that allowed it to be passed [JURIST report] before Congress left for a summer break.

The RESTORE Act would allow for greater oversight of government wiretapping and reaffirm that FISA warrants are required when domestic communications are targeted. Bush characterized the changes as a step backward, but expressed optimism that his administration could find a common ground with Congress. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) [official website] recognized before Bush's statement that Bush would likely demand immunity for telecommunications companies, and indicated that Democrats may be willing to compromise [AP report] on that front. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Thomas Becket, former Chancellor of England, murdered by Henry II's knights

On December 29, 1170, Archbishop Thomas Becket, former Chancellor of England, was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral by knights acting in the name of Henry II.

Becket and Henry had been entangled in a power struggle over, among other things, criminal jurisdiction over clergy. Read a contemporary account of the murder of Thomas Becket.

Texas attains US statehood

On December 29, 1845, Texas became the twenty-eighth state to join the United States of America when US President James K. Polk signed the Ordinance of Annexation. Texas had a complicated path to statehood because it had formerly been part of Mexico and then an independent republic. The US Congress passed the Annexation of the Republic of Texas Joint Resolution on March 1, 1845. Voters in Texas then approved the Ordinance of Annexation in October, before it was approved by the US Congress and signed into law by President Polk on this day in 1845. The US Supreme Court later ruled in Texas v. White that, despite its unique path to statehood, Texas did not have the right to secede from the union.