Congressmen witnessed pivotal Guantanamo hearing(Senators Levin and Graham)

[maddezmom]

Congressmen witnessed pivotal Guantanamo hearing


Washington Post

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WASHINGTON — Key congressional leaders flew secretly Saturday to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to observe the closed military hearing for al-Qaida leader Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, according to congressional staff and Pentagon officials.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Armed Services committee, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a committee member, watched the proceedings over closed-circuit television from an adjacent room, said Tara Andringa, a spokeswoman for Levin. They were joined by a representative from the CIA, according to one U.S. government official.

The official transcript of Mohammed's hearing, called to establish whether he qualifies as an "enemy combatant," acknowledged the presence of five unnamed military officers, a translator and an official tribunal reporter.

It is unclear why the presence of two senators who helped write the law codifying the tribunals was not announced.

~snip~

Saturday's trip underscores congressional efforts to exert oversight of one of President Bush's most controversial programs in his fight against al-Qaida. After recent criticism from the Justice Department's inspector general over its use of surveillance powers under the Patriot Act, the Bush administration is under pressure to offer greater transparency than it had been willing to accommodate in the past.

more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/4635813.html

Will issue a joint statement today

[annabanana]

1. Their joint statement will be interesting. . . .n/t

[woodsprite]

2. Why were they watching on CC TV? Flew all that way just for that? n/t

[gratuitous]

3. Nice to invite them for opening night

It must have been a thrilling performance. I guess I'm just a little more interested in the rehearsals for the show; you know, how the confessions were extracted, that technical stuff that's of interest probably only to us constitutional geek types.

[donkeyotay]

4. Over sight has been such a great success. Wow. Justice is blind,

but is being helped across the street by 2 senators. Transparency has been replaced with the good intentions of an institution with a terrrible track record. An ever-smaller group of insiders runs our country.

[The Stranger]

5. Now they are co-conspirators in the extra-constiututional, extra-legal "tribunals."