Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Gonzalez says that there is no right to habeas corpus

Bush-appointed Attorney General Gonzalez recently said that the right of habeas corpus is not directly protected by the constitution, but concedes that the constitution says that habeas may not be denied except during times of rebellion or invasion.

blink.... blink

Right... read that again, and try to keep your head from imploding.

Aren't the Republicans supposed to be the strict constructionists? Think about that statement very carefully. What Gonzalez said, essentially, is that there IS NO CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTION FROM UNLAWFUL IMPRISONMENT. Period. Instead, he argued that such protections are "statutory". The implications of this are chilling. First, because this is part of a pattern of the administration claiming broad powers to spy on, detain, and otherwise deny any constitutionally guaranteed right to whomever they choose. Secondly, because Gonzalez knows that's a load of shit. So someone told him to say it... and he was willing to.

The fact that it took a Supreme Court decision to affirm that, no, you can't imprison someone just because you want to, is alarming. But that Congress then passed the Military Commissions Act, in an attempt to over-ride this decision, is truly mind-blowing.

And really sad too.

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