Watching the Watchmen: What Obama Can Do About Illegal Surveillance

With all the commotion and hubbub surrounding the personalities and gossip of Obama's cabinet formation, and expression of everyone's opinion on how that should proceed, little has been said about the actual policies and actions (other than Iraq) that should be implemented right out of the gate. One area that has been neglected is that of the illegal wiretapping and surveillance policies and practices that were instituted in the country's name by the Cheney/Bush regime.

Our friends at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) have some ideas for the incoming Obama Administration in this regard, and they are pretty good.

President Obama can end the immunity process. Consistent with his previous opposition to immunity -- then-Senator Obama voted in favor of Senator Dodd's amendment to strip the immunity provisions out of the FAA altogether -- Obama could instruct his new Attorney General to withdraw the government's motion to dismiss the lawsuits based on the immunity statute. Or,