Finally Closing Guantanamo

For a while now, George Bush has claimed he wants to close Guantanamo Bay but like the possibility for anything positive happening under the worst President ever, nothing happened. On the campaign trail Barack Obama and other Democratic candidates promised to close the misbegotten facility where Bush suspended the laws of our democracy for those he and members of his Administration wanted to torture detainees without a fair trial. Republicans claimed that Obama was all words and no action, but when he becomes our 44th President, he'll have a plan of action waiting so that we can end the life of that miserable prison in Cuba.

From The Huffington Post:

Under plans being put together in Obama's camp, some detainees would be released and many others would be prosecuted in U.S. criminal courts.

A third group of detainees _ the ones whose cases are most entangled in highly classified information _ might have to go before a new court designed especially to handle sensitive national security cases, according to advisers and Democrats involved in the talks. Advisers participating directly in the planning spoke on condition of anonymity because the plans aren't final.

The move would be a sharp deviation from the Bush administration, which established military tribunals to prosecute detainees at the Navy base in Cuba and strongly opposes bringing prisoners to the United States. Obama's Republican challenger, John McCain, had also pledged to close Guantanamo. But McCain opposed criminal trials, saying the Bush administration's tribunals should continue on U.S. soil.

The plan being developed by Obama's team has been championed by legal scholars from both political parties. But it is almost certain to face opposition from Republicans who oppose bringing terrorism suspects to the U.S. and from Democrats who oppose creating a new court system with fewer rights for detainees.

President-Elect Obama realizes the importance of closing the prison. Not only does it help those wrongly detained without access to our justice system, it is a stain upon our nation and can be seen throughout the world. The beacon of freedom, democracy and the rule of law that we once were before George Bush can be restored, and Barack Obama is the man to do it. The remaining Republicans in Congress and the Senate may try to oppose it, but the best remember many of them will be up for re-election in just two years' time.

Detainees Still Guilty After Proven Innocent

Our nation has gone from endorsing the "innocent until proven guilty" motto to a more authoritarian "We'll imprison whoever the f*ck we want," especially so under the Bush Administration. If the Bushies don't give a rat's ass about the rule of law for their own crimes, why should it apply to the innocent that they just happen to not like (or those that they like to keep around as convenient boogeymen). Of course, they have a bullshit argument for keeping those proven innocent in jail.

From RawStory:

Some detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba will likely never be released because of the danger they pose, and those tried and acquitted will still be subject to continued detention as enemy combatants, a Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday.

Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary, made the remarks as Salim Hamdan, a Yemeni, awaited a verdict in the first war crimes trial to be held under a special regime created for "war on terror" suspects.

Morrell said Hamdan, a former driver of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, could appeal the verdict in US courts.

"But in the near term, at least, we would consider him an enemy combatant and still a danger and would likely still be detained for some period of time thereafter," he said.

Morrell said there were plans for at least 20 more such trials at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba but he said a significant portion of the detainees being held there would neither be tried nor released.

Ah, how comforting does that make you feel? Basically the Pentagon (vis a vis the Bush Administration) is trying to set the precedent that they can detain anyone for whatever reason and not try them, shattering the laws our framers wrote for the Constitution. The only danger here is the fact that with the government we have now, Americans can kiss their liberties and rights goodbye.

Judge Bates Reminds White House No One Is Above The Law

Since they walked into the White House, George Bush and his minions believed that they were above the law. This was proven time and time again when they broke the law and when called on it by the blogosphere (and rarely by the timid traditional media) they hid behind a veil of secrecy. When Congress changed hands and gave the Democratic Party some power to hold hearings and deliver subpoenas, they claimed executive privilege. Well after what seems like months and months of delays, a federal judge known for his executive branch bias has reminded the White House that no one is above the law.

From MSNBC:

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge John Bates said there’s no legal basis for Bush’s argument and that his former legal counsel, Harriet Miers, must appear before Congress. If she wants to refuse to testify, he said, she must do so in person. The committee also has sought to force testimony from White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten.

“Harriet Miers is not immune from compelled congressional process; she is legally required to testify pursuant to a duly issued congressional subpoena,” Bates wrote. He said that both Bolten and Miers must give Congress all non-privileged documents related to the firings.

The ruling is a blow to the Bush administration’s efforts to bolster the power of the executive branch at the expense of the legislative branch. The Bush administration argued it was immune from such subpoenas, arguing that Congress can't force them to testify or turn over documents.

Contrary to the wishes of the President and those beneath him that carried out crimes against the people of the United States and in particular several U.S. Attorneys (for this specific matter, the scandal is but one symptom of a devastating disease ravaging our Constitution). Judge Bates realizes that in our democracy, Congress has the power to check the Executive branch in order to give balance to our system of government. You know, the stuff written into the Constitution.

Of course now the White House will come up with another tactic to delay, most likely in the form of an appeal. That is why the Congress must find its spine and act now to circumvent their skirting of the justice system. Pelosi claims that they'll act, but only the people can pressure her and the caucus she leads into choosing real action over blustering and issuing sternly worded statements with nothing behind them.

Fitzgerald Responds To Libby Commutation

Not surprisingly but extremely shocking news today came from the White House when Bush essentially pardoned Scooter Libby, saving him from jail time but not the fine and probation (for now). This is yet another sad day for the rule of law in America. Patrick Fitzgerald, the man that prosecuted Libby weighs in with a statement read by Keith Olbermann.