Feingold Calls Out Bush For "Transparent Fear Mongering" Over Telecom Bill

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Commenting on President George Bush's decision to grant immunity to telecoms involved in controversial wiretapping, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) accused the White House of spreading fear throughout America in an attempt to lift accountability for those involved.

"The president's fear-mongering and efforts to mislead the American people have become increasingly transparent," Feingold said. "The House should continue to stand up to these tactics and decline to grant immunity to companies that allegedly cooperated in the president's illegal warrantless wiretapping program. It is unacceptable that this administration seems to be more interested in avoiding all accountability for the program than it is in working with Congress to pass a bull that both allows us to aggressively go after suspected terrorists and protects the privacy of innocent Americans."

The comment was aimed to attack the president's recent statements calling for the presentation of a bill that authorized warrantless surveillance of individuals suspected to be involved in possible terrorist activity.

"This week House leaders are finally bringing legislation [on the surveillance issue] to the floor," Bush recently said. "Unfortunately, instead of holding a vote on the good bipartisan bill that passed the United States Senate, they introduced a partisan bill that would undermine America's security."

According to the Baltimore Sun, Bush went on to call the bill "unwise" and that "the House leaders know that the Senate will not pass it... and even if the Senate did pass it, they know I will veto it."

"The American people understand the stakes of this struggle," said Bush. "They want their children to be safe from terror. Congress has done little in the three weeks since the last recess, and they should not leave for their Easter recess without getting the Senate bill to my desk."