Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Russ Feingold will offer an amendment in the Senate Judiciary Committee tomorrow to strike retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies alleged to have assisted with the President’s illegal warrantless wiretapping program. The retroactive immunity provision, included in the current version of the FISA Amendments Act being considered by the committee, would likely deny the courts the opportunity to review the warrantless wiretapping program. Lawsuits against private entities alleged to have cooperated with the program may provide the only avenue for judicial oversight of the program.

“Granting retroactive immunity for companies that allegedly went along with this illegal program is unjustified and undermines the rule of law,” Feingold said. “Not only would retroactive immunity set the terrible precedent that breaking the law is permissible and companies need not worry about the privacy of their customers, but it would likely prevent courts from ruling on the President’s illegal warrantless wiretapping program. This program was one of the worst abuses of executive power in our history, and the courts should be able to rule on it once and for all.”

Current law already provides immunity from lawsuits for companies that cooperate with the government’s request for assistance, as long as they receive either a court order or a certification from the Attorney General that no court order is needed and the request meets all statutory requirements. This limited immunity already protects companies that act in good faith while also protecting the privacy of Americans’ communications.

“We want companies not only to cooperate with the government, but to comply with the law. And we want the government to comply with the law as well. Granting retroactive immunity sends exactly the wrong message,” Feingold added.