There has been a remarkable turn of events today in the saga of granting phone companies amnesty for illegal wiretapping.

Senator Chris Dodd had placed a hold on the FISA bill to keep it from reaching the Senate floor. Today, as expected, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tossed the hold to bring up the bill. Sen. Reid then handily got the 60% vote he needed to shut down Dodd's threatened filibuster.

That seemed like game over, at least in the Senate. This afternoon, the New York Times was reporting the events as a big victory for the phone companies and Bush administration.

However, later in the day, due to the extraordinary pushback, Reid announced that the FISA bill would be put off, rather than rammed through before recess.

The Times pulled the earlier story and replaced it with one now saying:

In a setback for the White House, Senate Democrats on Monday put off until at least next month any decision on whether to give legal protection to the phone carriers that helped with the National Security Agency’s eavesdropping program.

You can read the entire article here: Democrats Delay a Vote on Immunity for Wiretaps

Also, be sure to check out Glenn Greenwald's analysis of Reid's inconsistent handling of legislative holds, with periodic updates with the day's events: Harry Reid -- compare and contrast