The Los Angeles Times follows up on Attorney General Eric Holder’s moment of consensus Wednesday with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on creating new indefinite detention rules for a post-Guantanamo effort against al-Qaeda. It’s a consequence of the Obama administration’s decision not only to close Guantanamo but to renounce More…
One lingering question from today’s Senate hearing with Attorney General Eric Holder is just how the Justice Department determines which terror suspects get tried in a criminal court and which get tried in a military commission. It’s a persistent uncertainty: David Kris and Jeh Johnson, the two senior-most officials More…
Adam Serwer reads Andy McCarthy’s comment in my piece today about information of any kind being unacceptably jeopardized by the “day to day” interactions of civilian court procedures and observes:
I’m here at Guantanamo to observe a hearing in the case of Noor Uthman Mohammed, who is being accused
Air Force Col. Morris Davis was the chief prosecutor for the military commissions before his 2006 resignation in protest over what he considered to be the injustice of the system. And he has nothing but commendations for Adm. Bruce MacDonald, who’s reportedly about to become the new “convening More…
Mike Isikoff scoops the world that retired Vice Adm. Bruce MacDonald is going to be appointed new chief “convening authority” of the revamped military commissions — basically the guy who decides if prospective detainees will receive the military-commissions version of indictments — a sign that the new commissions are More…
Human Rights First, which staunchly opposes any decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his fellow 9/11 conspirators in a military commission, convened a conference call with three prominent retired military leaders More…
A key behind-the-scenes architect of the Bush administration’s first version of the military commissions for terrorism suspects — which the Supreme Court found to unconstitutionally restrict the legal rights of detainees — will take a central Pentagon position dealing with detainee policy for the Obama administration.
William Lietzau, a Marine More…
ABC News reports that the task force President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder empaneled to decide the venue for charging each remaining Guantanamo Bay detainee — civilian courts or military commissions — has wrapped up its work. So who won’t get charged — but will still be detained? More…
The Wall Street Journal, Pat Buchanan and others are already condemning the Obama administration for treating Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab as a civilian criminal rather than an illegal warrior to whom we can presumably do whatever we please. We are in “a war,” The Journal More…
In February 2004, Ubrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi was charged with conspiring with al Qaeda in Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere to attack and murder civilians and destroy property. The government claimed that al Qosi was an armed guard and driver for Osama bin Laden going back More…
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