Lindsey Graham quietly files Gitmo habeas bill - Josh Gerstein - POLITICO.com
source: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0810/40968.html
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- toyotabedzrock
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In a move reflecting apparent frustration over stalled talks with the White House on Guantanamo and detainee issues, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is moving forward — without the Obama administration’s blessing — with legislation to address a series of thorny legal questions raised by the long-term detention of terrorism suspects.
A bill Graham quietly introduced last week would set standards and rules for legal challenges brought by prisoners at Guantanamo as well as other suspected enemy fighters whom U.S. forces may capture in the future.
The bill would apply to anyone whom the federal government seeks to detain as an “unprivileged enemy belligerent” — including U.S. citizens. It could also apply to anyone apprehended on U.S. soil, since there is no geographic limitation
A prominent lawyer for Guantanamo detainees, Sabin Willett, said he is most troubled by an aspect of the bill that allows the president to detain anyone who belongs to groups he determines are “associated forces” of the Taliban or Al Qaeda. The bill says courts must grant “the utmost deference” to the president on that point, which means courts are unlikely to challenge it.
“That’s pretty scary and ought to be pretty darn objectionable to Congress as an institution. Congress is lodged in the Constitution with the power to say who we’re at war against,” Willett said. “Embedded in this thing is a perpetual declaration of war that’s pretty astonishing. How far from ‘1984’ is this? We’re always at war and always at war against whoever the president says we’re at war against?”
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A bill Graham quietly introduced last week would set standards and rules for legal challenges brought by prisoners at Guantanamo as well as other suspected enemy fighters whom U.S. forces may capture in the future.
The bill would apply to anyone whom the federal government seeks to detain as an “unprivileged enemy belligerent” — including U.S. citizens. It could also apply to anyone apprehended on U.S. soil, since there is no geographic limitation
A prominent lawyer for Guantanamo detainees, Sabin Willett, said he is most troubled by an aspect of the bill that allows the president to detain anyone who belongs to groups he determines are “associated forces” of the Taliban or Al Qaeda. The bill says courts must grant “the utmost deference” to the president on that point, which means courts are unlikely to challenge it.
“That’s pretty scary and ought to be pretty darn objectionable to Congress as an institution. Congress is lodged in the Constitution with the power to say who we’re at war against,” Willett said. “Embedded in this thing is a perpetual declaration of war that’s pretty astonishing. How far from ‘1984’ is this? We’re always at war and always at war against whoever the president says we’re at war against?”
Follow the link... there is more.
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artemis6
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I hope these people have their justice , Go Mr. G .
- 1 year ago
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artemis6
