'Torture loophole' lawyer sets sights on the Supreme Court

[struggle4progress]

<snip>
Also contributing to this environment was the presidential order, written by Gonzales, authorizing the use of military tribunals to try terrorist suspects. The order produced howls of protest by setting up a proceeding so lacking in basic due process that it appeared to have the makings of a star chamber.

In defense of the plan, Gonzales wrote an op-ed piece for the New York Times calling the tribunals "full and fair." The column was a study in half-truths, including the claim that anyone detained or tried by a military commission "in the United States" would ultimately have the protections of our civilian courts "through a habeas corpus proceeding."

In fact, the administration is holding foreign enemy combatants outside the United States, for the sole purpose of defeating their rights of habeas corpus. And whether the administration can get away with this outrage is a question currently before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Gonzales has also been a fierce defender of presidential secrecy, helping to put prior presidential records and Vice President Cheney's energy task force records out of reach. "He has been a major advocate of virtually untrammeled presidential prerogatives," said Elliot Mincberg, general counsel for People for the American Way, who worries about a Gonzales nomination if Bush is reelected.
<snip>
http://www.sltrib.com/2004/Jun/06042004/commenta/commenta.asp

[Skittles]

1. if they could bork Bork

they should have no time trashing that piece of garbage.

[gottaB]

2. That's so outrageous

Thanks for posting.

[donhakman]

3. Camp David talks