President Bush wants Congress to give him broad powers to spy on Americans and others without a warrant.

He also wants liability protection for telecommunications companies that allowed the government to monitor their customers' communications without permission.

Congress must say "no" to the administration's requests and the courts must hold corporations accountable to the rule of law.

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act provides the government a mechanism to obtain warrants, from a secret court set up for that express purpose, for wiretaps. FISA even provides for after-the-fact approval on an emergency basis.

Likewise, the Federal Telecommunications Act specifies the privacy rights of telecom customers.

But the Bush administration has used national security to justify circumventing FISA and ordering telecoms to violate their customers' rights. Mr. Bush now wants Congress to scrap FISA and grant corporate immunity to the companies it asked to violate the telecommunications law.

The Justice Department has asked courts to dismiss a class action against AT&T for its part in the secret spying program. It says a lawsuit would make public "state secrets."

Congress must resist administration pressure and political rhetoric, and must protect Americans' rights. The courts must uphold the rule of law.

It is their constitutional duty.

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