November 1, 2007 (LPAC)--Leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee said yesterday they oppose granting retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that cooperated with the Administration's warrantless wiretapping program, setting up a likely floor-fight between the Senate Intelligence and Judiciary Committees. The Intelligence Committee, headed by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), with only two Democrats opposing, has voted up a version of the FISA reform bill which protects the companies from civil suits, as has been demanded by the White House.

There are currently more than 40 lawsuits pending, brought by citizens charging that their rights were violated by the domestic wiretap program -- a program which was directly initiated and overseen by Vice President Dick Cheney.

At the outset of yesterday's hearing, Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said he has a "grave concern" over the immunity, or "amnesty," provision in the Intelligence Committee bill. He said Congress should not provide an incentive for future unlawful activity by offering "an after-the-fact free pass." Leahy stressed that immunity is actually designed "to shield this Administration from any accountability for conducting surveillance outside the law," and that the lawsuits now pending are probably the only avenue that exists for review of the wiretapping program.

The senior Republican on the committee, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), also said he has "great reluctance" to give immunity for the wiretap program, partly because of the Administration's secrecy over the program. Specter pointed out that when the committee wanted to issue subpoenas last year, Cheney blocked them by "contacting Republican members without notifying the Chairman."

Speaking in favor of allowing the courts to hear the issue, Specter said that courts are best equipped to rein in presidential powers. "In the long history of this country, the courts have done a much better job in protecting civil liberties, than has the Congress, from an overreaching executive branch," he said.

One knowledgeable source said that the dispute between the two committees will probably have to be resolved on the Senate floor, and the then expressed concern that most Senators, including Democrats, would defer to the Intelligence Committee on the issue.