Congress and Retroactive Immunity

Today I feel compelled to point out that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi can't be judged solely on her mistaken decision to "take impeachment of the table." On ABC news she told George Stephanopoulos:

"The bill that we had put forth really was based on what we call the McConnell principles, the principles that the director of national intelligence said were essential to keeping America safe. The president has a different view," Pelosi said. "The president knows that he has all the authority he needs to collect from the underlying FISA bill and the orders that are still in place.""Is he lying to the country?" Stephanopoulos asked."The president knows that he has all the authority he needs -- the underlying FISA bill and the orders he already has in place with the Protect America Act that passed earlier," Pelosi responded. "Certainly there needed to be modernizations to the original FISA bill to reflect the changes in technology, and the president knows that Democrats support the collection against these terrorists, wherever the point of collection is, if they fit the bill of who should be collected upon."Pelosi continued, "The president maintains that he has inherent authority to spy on anyone, and our bill is consistent with the law that says that FISA is the authority under which collections may take place. This was recognized in 1978, when President Carter signed a bill, written by Congress, placing the courts in charge of how intelligence is collected in the United States. The president rejects that and says, 'I can do whatever I want.'"

Pelosi and other House leaders deserve our thanks for standing firm on this issue. Now if only they could do the same on winding down the war in Iraq!