Over at Wired's Threat Level blog, reports that the incoming Obama administration will defend congressional legislation that protected American telecommunication companies from lawsuits over participation in the Bush administration's domestic surveillance program. Snip:
That was the assessment Thursday by Eric Holder, President-elect Barack Obama's choice for attorney general, who made the statement during his confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. A court challenge questioning the legality of the legislation is pending in U.S. District Court in San Francisco — where the judge in the case wanted to know what the Obama administration's position was.
"The duty of the Justice Department is to defend statutes that have been passed by Congress," Holder told Sen. Orin Hatch (R-Utah), who asked whether the Obama administration would continue the legal fight to uphold the legislation that the Electronic Frontier Foundation is seeking to overturn.
"Unless there are compelling reasons, I don't think we would reverse course," Holder added.
Obama to Defend Telco Spy Immunity
Previously:
* EFF sues Cheney, Bush, and the NSA to stop illegal wiretapping
* EFF sues to overturn telcom immunity
* House passes wiretap telcom immunity bill
* New Obama poster: Illegal Wiretaps We Can Believe In
* Obama's support for the FISA "compromise"
* Senate votes to immunize telecoms over domestic spying
