NEWSLETTER
RSS
MOBILE
HELP
SHARE
Telcos Make Connections in Congress
Money and politics go hand in hand, of course, but it's still fascinating when direct links are drawn.
That's what nonprofit group MAPLight.org did when it tracked the donations of telecoms companies to lawmakers then correlated that with their votes on giving retroactive immunity to phone carriers.
The conclusion: Big players in the telecoms industry gave 50 percent more to members of Congress who voted to maintain blanket immunity for phone companies that permit government agents to wiretap their customers without court-authorized warrants.
Verizon, AT&T and Sprint political action committees gave, on average, $10,060, to lawmakers who voted against removing immunity granted under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, according to the group's calculations. The three companies gave $7,085 to members who voted "yes."
None of the three phone companies returned calls for comment Friday. They are facing lawsuits accusing them of conducting electronic surveillance of phone calls and e-mail that violated the privacy rights of law-abiding Americans.
"Like many issues in Congress, money closely correlates with votes," said Daniel Newman, executive director of MAPLight, which is based in Berkeley, California.
by Elizabeth Olson
- Snacks for the Bailout
- Oct 13 2008 1:52PM EDT
- Wall Street Woe Is Good News for the FT
- Oct 13 2008 12:46PM EDT
- Goldman's U-Turn on Oil
- Oct 13 2008 11:13AM EDT
- Overpaid? Who, Me?
- Oct 13 2008 9:56AM EDT
- Krugman Data Point: a Nobel
- Oct 13 2008 8:45AM EDT
- End Comes Early for a Law Firm
- Oct 10 2008 5:25PM EDT
- The Smartest Guy in the Art Gallery?
- Oct 10 2008 4:05PM EDT
- Lehman's Leavings
- Oct 10 2008 2:33PM EDT
- Kill the Ratings Agencies
- Oct 10 2008 12:41PM EDT
- Look Who's Hopeful
- Oct 10 2008 11:52AM EDT
- Prescription for Accounting Cases
- Oct 9 2008 6:24PM EDT
- Tom Perkins' Yacht, Now Slightly Used
- Oct 9 2008 4:30PM EDT
- G.M., the 1929 Model
- Oct 9 2008 3:51PM EDT
- New Home for a Fallen Housing Giant
- Oct 9 2008 2:25PM EDT
- Man Bites Dog, Paper Sues Readers
- Oct 9 2008 1:15PM EDT
Archive
Mobile