Holder: We’re Still Working on Indefinite Detention

After confirming that the administration has determined 48 detainees at Guantanamo who are “not feasible to transfer [and] too dangerous to prosecute,” Attorney General Eric Holder conceded that the administration still doesn’t have a structure in place for handling their indefinite detention without trial. Holder told Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) that the administration would not object to those detainees challenging their detention in habeas corpus proceedings before a federal judge, and for those who lose their habeas cases and remain detained, there “has to be some kind of ongoing review mechanism put in place” for determining someone is still a threat.

“We’re still working through [this issue] in the interagency and, frankly, working with Sen. Graham as well,” Holder said. “Hopefully we will have something to share, and, more importantly, put into place” in the next several months, he said, later clarifying that he believes the administration can finalize that process by the end of the year. “There is a symbolic significance to this review process,” Holder added, comparing it to the negative symbolism posed by the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.