Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), Judiciary Committee Ranking Member is speaking to the ACLU right now and is being aired on CSPAN2.
He is speaking out forcefully regarding warrantless wiretapping, rendition, and torture.
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It's hard to give retroactive immunity when you don't know what you are giving immunity for."
Other speakers, including James Risen, coming up.
I see this as an important step in the right direction by a respected Republican to be speaking at the ACLU. Will flesh out the diary with more information during his speech.
12:52 pm EST: He's blasting Mukasey now.
He's introduced legislation to change the caveat used by Mukasey about having approval by the deputy attorney general. "That's a difference without distinction in my opinion." He and Leahy are co-sponsoring the legislation and will be pushing it and pushing it hard. Wants to get it enacted this year.
Talking about the reporters' protection now, and Judith Miller (without knowing why she was being held??).
"I'm glad to be on the same side as the ACLU in these two important issues."
He's joining the panel now.
James Risen, author of "State of War" and NYT reporter, states that Judith Miller was not "the last reporter jailed," and in fact the Mugabi government has recently jailed a journalist.
Toni Loci, Journalism Professor, discusses her investigative reporting on the anthrax case. Wow, she's blasting the media for allowing "confidential source" to be dictated by a secretive government rather than by the journalists.
Ariel Dorfman, Human Rights Activist, is now reading his poems, one about rendition and torture. (1:42 pm)