Retroactive Protection Could Create Problems in the FutureWhen previous Republican administrations were accused of illegality in the FBI and CIA spying abuses of the 1970s or the Iran-Contra affair of the 1980s, Democrats in Congress launched investigations or pushed for legislative reforms.But last week, faced with admissions by several telecommunication companies that they assisted the Bush administration in warrantless spying on Americans, leaders of the Senate intelligence committee took a much different tack — proposing legislation that would grant those companies retroactive immunity from prosecution or lawsuits.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/21/AR2007102101041.html