In one of the greatest attacks on civil liberties in this country’s history, Democratic and Republican Senators voted yesterday to approve a measure as part of the $662 billion defense bill that would allow for the military to hold both citizens and non-citizens indefinitely without trial — even those arrested on U.S. soil. In a welcomed change, President Obama has committed his Administration to fighting the measure as inimical to the rule of law. The measure was pushed by Carl Levin (D – Michigan) and John McCain (R – Arizona). While some members of Congress like Ron Paul (R., Texas) have denounced the bill, the measure passed at the same time that Administration lawyers publicly declared that the military and intelligence agencies alone should decide whether a citizen should be killed without a charge or hearing (including killing citizens on U.S. soil) — a position supported by President Obama who has ordered the killing of U.S. citizens under his claim of inherent authority.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, tried to pass an amendment that would have limited it to suspects captured “abroad” — a measure that still raised constitutional and international law problems. However, even that modest amendment failed on a vote of 45 to 55. Here is the voting roster, which includes Democrats Begich (D-AK), Casey (D-PA), Levin (D-MI), Inouye (D-HI), Landrieu (D-LA), Manchin (D-WV), McCaskill (D-MO), Pryor (D-AR), as well as independent Lieberman (ID-CT). A watered down amendment was then passed 99-1 that left the matter (it would appear) to the Administration. The provision merely states that nothing in the provisions could be construed to alter Americans’ legal rights. Since the Senate clearly views citizens are not just subject to indefinite detention but even execution without a trial, the change offers nothing but rhetoric to hide the harsh reality.
Virtually all Democrats and Republicans voted to strip citizens of their rights in a vote of 93-7.
What is fascinating is the Senators insisted on passing the provision despite the fact that the Directors of the FBI and CIA, the secretary of defense, and the director of national intelligence have all opposed it on national security and legal grounds. Nevertheless, people like McCaskill who are running for reelection want to prove that they are tough on terrorism by stripping citizens to the right to basic due process rights. The fact that the Democratic and Republican Senators took this step without even holding a hearing is a testament to the state of civil liberties in the United States.
It is unclear whether the President will have the integrity and courage to carry through on this pledge to veto this pernicious bill. For civil libertarians, we have reached our Alamo moment where the most basic principles of the rule of law are at stake. The Congress has long been indifferent if not hostile to civil liberties, but as discussed in an earlier column (and here), civil liberties has reached one of the lowest ebbs in both politics and policy in this country’s history. Such measures are now met with a gigantic and collective shrug from an indifferent populace.
The national debate has become positively otherworldly for civil libertarians. As the Senate set about rolling back civil liberties, Administration lawyers — CIA counsel Stephen Preston and Pentagon counsel Jeh Johnson — publicly explained to an audience this week that the decision whether to kill a U.S. citizens anywhere and anytime must be left solely to the discretion of the military and intelligence branches. President Obama has supported this view and claims the right to kill any citizen on his unilateral and unchecked executive authority. I discussed this horrific policy in a prior column (and here).
How did we come to this place? Well, it took the joint efforts of both parties and a country that has been lured into a dangerous passivity by years of war rhetoric. We now appear to define ourselves by our lifestyle rather than our rights. Being American appears to be treated as conclusory and self-evident — untethered to our defining principles. So in comes to this. The loss of the most basic right of citizens met not by applause but, even worse, a collective yawn.
Here is the Senate bill: BILLS-112s1867pcs
Source: Newser
“James in LA and Rafflaw…I wholeheartedly agree.
Note to Jonathon: the things I like most about this website is your legal
expertise, and the number of intelligent people commenting here.”
Thank you. There is much consensus here.
So, do forgive my presumptuousness, but I’m just going to come out with it: more than a few lawyers read this blog, of all stripes, at all levels. For years, as we have seen the current administration repeat the same dreadful mistakes, there has been no paucity of commentary on the cause and effect. This or a future administration is almost certain to fail, and miserably so.
I find it difficult to fathom that such Reverend Barristry has not yet banded together to meet this assault directly, and not with just any civil proceeding. It is hard to enroll myself in the notion that such motivated individuals as seasoned jurists are incapable of independently, and with all due Patriotism, crafting and implementing the legal corrections we absolutely have to have.
So I am laying down the gauntlet. As a person of Service and some information-related talents, I would join any real effort today with everything I could spare.
Absolutely incredible and outrageous. Is this America or Iran. Did we not have those three kids held for two year in Iran when they were merely hiking. Our Congressman are a bunch of hypocrites and are ill informed about constitutional safeguards that distinguish our country from other nations. Just a sad day in our country.
Absolutely incredible and outrageous. Is this America or Iran. Did we not have those three kids held for two year in Iran when they were merely hiking. Our Congressman are a bunch of hypocrites and are ill informed about constitutional safeguards that distinguish our country from other nations. Just a sad day in our country.
Now they can kidnap or kill you whenever they want.
Of course, they always could–legal niceties aside–but now they can brag about it.
Thank you Mespo and Dredd for your input.
James in LA and Rafflaw…I wholeheartedly agree.
Note to Jonathon: the things I like most about this website is your legal
expertise, and the number of intelligent people commenting here.
One friend of mine with whom I shared the above link replied with the following:
“Hände hoch, bitte deine Papiere! Ihren Namen, bist du ein Jude?”
Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. If you aren’t scared, you simply do not understand the situation.
Look where this can lead. I know this is not new, but TSA haz a bad case of stoopid. Read and weep.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/02/travel/air-passenger-gun-purse/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
I guess the next thing to be confiscated is the photo in your wallet of you standing by your trophy deer with your rifle.
I agree with James of LA. It is time for action to save our liberties.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/12/02/1041853/-Senate-punts-on-indefinite-detention-of-American-citizens?via=blog_1
“Never mind you can be tracked nine ways from Sunday now…” -James in LA
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trade-in-surveillance-technology-raises-worries/2011/11/22/gIQAFFZOGO_story.html?hpid=z4
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2011/1203/Guantanamo-for-US-citizens-Senate-bill-raises-questions Feinstein says that we don’t want to lock up American citizens as we did previously when we locked up the Japanese.
The arc has reached this frontier:
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/alabama-arrests-another-foreign-auto-executive/
One nugget here is that Alabama now has check points set up simply to check your papers. They get the easy ones first: those who drive. Woe betide you left your license on the dresser. Never mind you can be tracked nine ways from Sunday now IN ADDITION TO your driver’s license.
As governmental intrusion and intimidation grows more rank, it steals our power to act to remove the laws on which these sadists depend.
Time is of the essence. Seat grand juries today.
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/12/conservatives-starting-to-catch-on-that-jon-huntsman-is-a-conservative.php?ref=fpa You could be right, Blouise.
http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2011/12/war-endless-war
“We must make it clear to politicians that the overreaching mistake of the PATRIOT Act must be corrected. The effort to combat terrorism does not require sacrificing our rights. It never has and it never will.” -Gene H.
Of course Gene H. is correct about the Patriot Act… and, yet, it’s still with us and stronger than ever, it would seem…
Senator Wyden warned us about some of its abuses. He said, “When the American people find out how their government has secretly interpreted the Patriot Act, they will be stunned and they will be angry.” ” Furthermore, since its passage, the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General has repeatedly found widespread blatant abuse of the statute.” (ACLU, The Patriot Act, 10 Years Later)
After hearing Wyden’s fairly recent comments, I naively expected that there would be some sort of public outcry — I thought that Americans would demand answers. Nope. Relative silence was the response. No hue and cry. Nothing. Better to feel safe and secure. If one isn’t personally feeling the pinch, then no real need to act… No leaks… Not a peep… To date, no one is talking… and few are even bothering to ask…
We need a Watergate-like moment, I suppose. Without it, it’ll simply be business as usual. One thing that I’ve learned over the past few years is that Americans, in general, have been well-trained to turn a blind eye to abuse, if doing otherwise would upset one’s nice, comfortable life.
Daniel Ellsberg struggled with this. In his documentary, he relates that he’s still haunted by thoughts about how many lives might have been saved, if he had done something earlier. (As many know, he waited years before acting.) He said that there were so many people who knew… and did nothing…
Evil truly does flourish, when good men do nothing. We’ve been less-than- able guardians of this little republic of ours…and, as such, we shouldn’t be surprised at where we are today.
Repeal the Patriot Act and the Authorization of Forces. Seat grand juries to probe matters of war crimes. And overturn Citizens United.
This is the pathway out of the darkness, and all of it is still not only possible, but absolutely required for America to survive.
I am astonished that no U.S. attorney has acted. Go to Vermont to understand why they will arrest the former heads of the previous criminal enterprise posing as a presidency on sight.
The time has come to act.
When a reporter attacks a bill, they are obligated to refer to section numbers and quote the offensive provision. I read the contents and sacanned the entire entire bill, and there is nothing new since post-911 legislation. There is certainly nothing authorizing the killing Obama did, it went outside this legislation. Believe me there is plenty to be worried about, but nothing new. Politicians find reasons to harass and try to impeach each other because they want to eliminate the competition. What should concern us is that this could be deliberate disinformation to keep our attention off the real issues – the killing of 100s of thousand oof innocents overseas, and the fat military budget that continues to bankrupt the country. Sure, let protest the two that were killed. But dont waste our time tying it wrongly to new legislation without even giving references to the text.
Kenergy599 1, December 2, 2011 at 11:47 pm
Section 1032 (b) 1 says it doesn’t apply to US citzens…where do you folks think it applies to us?
==================
Before any bill becomes law by the signature of the President, while it is in legislation mode it goes through many morphs. Be sure to read the proper, latest version.
The Senators have declared publicly that they are just making a law that “already is the law”.
Wrong!
What they are doing is to condition the public in preparation for what is coming.
Preparing for what is obvious to those who are reading the signs.
Mike/mespo/kenergy,
The root of the pestilence eroding our civil and human rights remains. This kind of situation will only keep occurring until that vile root is removed from the soil of American jurisprudence. It’s not enough to defeat bills like this one. We must make it clear to politicians that the overreaching mistake of the PATRIOT Act must be corrected. The effort to combat terrorism does not require sacrificing our rights. It never has and it never will.
Kenergy & Mespo,
I really hope your interpretations and my reading excludes American cities,ens and legally resident aliens. However, indefinite detention of anyone sans a trial affording them the right of a defense is noxious to me.