AP:

A top Democratic leader [sic] opened the door Tuesday to granting U.S. telecommunications companies retroactive legal immunity for helping the government conduct electronic surveillance without court orders, but said the Bush administration must first detail what those companies did.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said providing the immunity will likely be the price of getting President Bush to sign into law new legislation extending the government's surveillance authority.

In a conference call with reporters, a senior [cough] Justice Department official called Hoyer's offer "encouraging" but would not commit to sharing the data.

Leave aside the absurd idea of trusting Bush to "detail" anything. How on earth do they plan to verify what they get?

The real issue is this: If, whenever major corporations break the law, Congress grants them retroactive immunity, what does the rule of law mean?