Gingrey on Habeas Corpus...Piss Off!
Posted On Sunday, June 15, 2008 at at 7:11 PM by Dan
I get periodic updates from Rep. Phil Gingrey. He's allegedly my representative from the 11th District in Georgia. I'm reprinting his last update since it talked about habeas corpus. Specifically, Gingrey talked about how the US Supreme Court's ruling that all people in the US, whether a citizen or not, have the right to challenge their own detention. Gingrey is opposed to this right. Apparently 800 years of habeas is more than enough for him. I will also be posting some analysis of the decision in the next day or so.
Dear Daniel,
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a very unsettling decision that will allow terrorist detainees held at Guantanamo Bay – including the masterminds behind 9/11 – the right to challenge their detention in American civilian courts. I strongly disagree with the decision by the heavily divided Supreme Court, which grants unprecedented Constitutional rights to the very enemies who seek to destroy the freedoms provided by the Constitution. Under this decision, a terrorist involved in a plot to destroy our way of life would have the same rights you would have if arrested for a suspended driver’s license. Granting these terrorists full due process will not come without a cost: some predict that the Court has moved us one step closer to the day when our military forces will have to have lawyers read Miranda rights to terrorists captured on the battlefield.
Terrorists intent on destroying America are not only trained to wage warfare against the “infidels”, but also to wage “lawfare” within their judicial systems. A well-known al-Qaeda training manual recovered in Manchester, England – and used in the prosecution of Zacarias Moussaoui – explicitly counsels terrorists to claim they were tortured and mistreated while they were detained. The manual also instructs terrorists to make these charges through lawyers in judicial proceedings. The Supreme Court decision will exponentially expand the opportunities for terrorists captured in battle to carry out their campaign of “lawfare” against the United States. This decision will indeed provide the terrorists with unprecedented, unfettered access to the court system of the very country they are attacking and trying to destroy.
As our troops continue to make strides to rid the world of the threat of terrorism, our courts should not act as a revolving door to release these terrorists back to the battlefield. We should allow the Congressionally-designed system to provide justice to terrorists, such as Khalid Sheihk Mohammed and the masterminds of 9/11, a chance to work.
Under the current system, Mohammed is provided with 28 fundamental rights, including the right to counsel, the right to an impartial judge, the presumption of innocence, the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and the right to at least two appeals including to a federal Article III appellate court. This system also already provides an opportunity for detainees to question their status via a Combatant Status Review Tribunal (CSRT), without providing terrorist detainees the protections reserved for American citizens under the Constitution.
While nearly all of the detainees are illegal combatants – who, in fighting out of uniform, targeting civilians, and beheading their prisoners have made no effort to comply with our standards or those of the Geneva Convention – our morals require us to adhere to a higher standard. I therefore support the broad rights already provided to terrorist defendants. Terrorists who seek to harm the United States, however, must understand that there will be serious consequences for committing atrocities upon our citizens, our homeland, or our interests abroad. Unfortunately, this is not the message sent by our nation’s highest court, and I fear that it will be our troops and their mission that will ultimately suffer for it.
At the same time that our courts are granting unprecedented rights to terrorists, the Democratic leadership in Congress continues to stall on an emergency funding bill for our troops. For the past several weeks, Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has warned Congressional leaders that unless emergency funds were approved by June 15th, the Department of Defense might have to stop paying our troops' salaries! The message that conveys to me is that Congress should immediately pass an emergency troop funding measure – one that can earn the approval of the Senate, the signature of the President, and the respect of those in the field who have put themselves in harm’s way for the security of our nation. I will continue working with my Republican colleagues to get this critical funding to our troops, as soon as possible.
Phil Gingrey, M.D.
