Senate Approves Surveillance Legislation

As expected, an updated surveillance law passed in the Senate today.
What didn't pass was an amendment to the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act (FISA) that would have stripped telecom immunity, by a
vote of 32-to-66. Democratic Senator Chris Dodd was pushing to allow
customers to sue the companies that allowed the federal government to
monitor their communications without a warrant post 9/11. Another
amendment which would have put telecom immunity on hold until the
Inspector General concludes his investigation into the matter was also
shot down, 42-to-52. The House has already passed the same bill. We
spoke with Michelle Richardson, Legislative Council for the American
Civil Liberties Union, about today's vote in the Senate.

Click here for newscast for Wednesday, July 9th, 2008