This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Friday, June 13th, 2008.

I'm Kila Brown.

Foreign Intelligence Gathering is a key component to keep the United States safe from attack.

But it should also respect the rights of Americans against government

intrusion. John McCain's posturing on both sides of the issue of foreign intelligence leaves

civil libertarians wanting for someone with a little more substance on behalf of individual liberty.

Cato Institute adjunct scholar Tim Lee comments.

In 2005, John McCain said he was very iffy on this issue of giving telecoms immunity as part of reform of FISA and said that we should be very careful about how it goes

forward. We at the very least should do a lot of hand-ringing over it if it does pass but in 2008 he voted for giving

telecoms immunity without any of the things that he thought ought to be included

that that's right he seems to have been sort of saying one thing in doing another.

Even as late as December 2007, he was giving media statements that maybe telecom community is okay but at the very least there needs to be hearings

we need to figure out what's happened and we need to make sure that it's done in a way that the telecom

companies understand that they shouldn't do this again.

And then in February of this year the Senate came up with legislation that

didn't meet any of those criteria that simply said anything the telecom

companies may have done to assist with with surveillance activities since

September 2001 is forgiven and you know no hearings no penalties no

you know not even provision that says you know and you can't do it in the future you know

we really mean it this time right so you have the moral

hazard issue is still there for telecoms that may want to engage in the same

activity in the future and having seen the previous example say well we can probably get out of this that's right and we have to

...