Bush, Dems take fight over FISA to the airwaves

BUSH, DEMS TAKE FIGHT OVER FISA TO THE AIRWAVES
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Jessica Holzer]
President Bush used his weekly radio address Saturday to blast House Democrats for leaving town without passing a Senate-approved foreign intelligence surveillance law, accusing them of causing a lapse in national security by allowing the current law to expire. “At the stroke of midnight tonight, a vital intelligence law that is helping protect our nation will expire. Congress had the power to prevent this from happening, but chose not to,” he said. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), delivering the response from the Democrats, shot back that the president was “whipping up false fears” and “creating artificial confrontation.” He said Bush would take the blame for any security failure because he had threatened to veto legislation extending the current law until House and Senate negotiators arrived at a compromise. “Make no mistake: If the surveillance law expires, if any intelligence loss results, it is President Bush’s choice. Period,” he said.
http://thehill.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=71544&Itemid=70

* Dems see beginnings of deal on surveillance bill
Signs of a congressional compromise over foreign-intelligence surveillance began to emerge Friday even as Democrats and Republicans continued to exchange sharp words over the effect of this weekend’s lapse of an interim wiretapping bill.
http://thehill.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=71542&Itemid=70

* Pelosi's Wiretap Offensive
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Editorial staff]
[Commentary] "What we have here is a remarkable display of the anti-antiterror minority at work. Democrats could vote directly to restrict wiretapping by the executive branch, but they lack the votes. So instead they're trying to do it through the backdoor by unleashing the trial bar to punish the telephone companies. Then if there is another terror attack, they'll blame the phone companies for not cooperating."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120338230850075699.html?mod=todays_us_opinion
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* Bush hammers House on surveillance bill
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/bush-hammers-house-on-surveillance-bill-2008-02-15.html

* White House: Five Myths About the House's FISA Failure
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/02/20080215-10.html

* Risks from lapsed wiretap law are disputed
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0219/p02s03-uspo.html

* Under fire, Democrats seek end to spy law feud
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9873204-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5

* What happened?
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/02/todays_must_read_277.php

* Telecommunications Companies Acted in Good Faith (Sen. Daniel Inouye)
http://blog.thehill.com/2008/02/15/telecommunications-companies-acted-in-good-faith-sen-daniel-inouye/