Glenn Greenwald offers another response to the Wall Street Journal editorial hawking retroactive immunity for big telecom.

The telecom amnesty debate is controversial but it is not complicated. The Government asked telecoms to break numerous federal laws in exchange for profit. Some telecoms refused to do so and others — such as AT&T and Verizon — agreed to break the law for years. Which behavior do we want to encourage and reward — (a) telecoms which turned down the substantial government contracts to enable warrantless spying on Americans because doing so was illegal, or (b) the telecoms which purposely broke our laws by allowing illegal government spying on Americans? How can that even be a debatable question?

As the Senate votes on amnesty tomorrow, the only real question is whether telecoms which broke our laws should be accountable in a court of law for their illegal behavior (the way things are supposed to work in a country that lives under the rule of law) or whether Congress, lavishly funded by this industry, will pass a law that has no purpose other than to give them the retroactive license to break our country’s laws with impunity.
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Whatever else is true about these telecoms that are about to be granted this extraordinary gift from Congress — no matter how many times they are lavished with the creepy Orwellian phrase “patriotic corporate citizens” — it is undeniable that they are deliberate lawbreakers. That’s why they need amnesty in the first place. Any amnesty advocate who denies that central fact is arguing from a position of deep dishonesty. Bestowing retroactive telecom amnesty is nothing more than the latest step in creating a two-class legal system in America, where most citizens suffer grave penalties if they break the law, while our most politically powerful and well-connected actors are free to do so with impunity.

Take action now and ask the Senate to oppose retroactive immunity for big telecom companies like Verizon and AT&T that helped the Bush administration spy on American citizens.

Cross posted at the CREDO Blog.