Damn.
I was in a pretty good mood, until I saw this on the Washington Post website a little while ago:
Quote:
By Ron Fournier
AP White House Correspondent
Tuesday, November 13, 2001; 6:00 PM
WASHINGTON-- President Bush signed an order Tuesday that would allow for the trial of people accused of terrorism by a special military commission instead of civilian courts, The Associated Press has learned.
The order, signed by Bush before he left for Crawford, Texas, gives the Bush administration another avenue to bring the Sept. 11 terrorists to justice, said White House counsel Albert Gonzales.
"This is a new tool to use against terrorism," Gonzales said in a telephone interview. The White House was to release the order late Tuesday.
Gonzales, a former Texas Supreme Court judge who is the president's top lawyer, said a military commission could have several advantages over a civilian court. It is easier to protect the sources and methods of investigators in military proceedings, for example, and a military trial can be held overseas.
Gonzales said there may be times when prosecutors feel a trial in America would be unsafe.
"There may not be a need for this and the president may make a determination that he does not want to use this tool, but he felt it appropriate that he have this tool available to him," the lawyer said.
© 2001 The Associated Press
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Gaaaaaaah. Ewwwww. Yuck. I feel dirty just reading it.
I couldn't find any further information about this, not even the text of the executive order itself. Google was no help, neither were the White House or Dept. of Justice websites. Have any Dwellars seen anything further on this? Are there any Constitutional scholars in our little community? IANAL, but I have a few questions I'd like to kick around:
- From whence would a "special military commission" derive it's authority to conduct such a trial? Surely not the Constitution. Or did I miss the section on "Special Military Commissions"?
- Would this commission try foreign nationals only? Or would it be empowered to try American citizens, too? Does Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution not apply anymore? How about the Sixth Amendment?
- How would a person end up in front of this commission? Would there be an indictment by a Grand Jury? Or are we gonna take a pass on the Fifth Amendment, too?
Does this bother anyone else? Or am I just being a paranoid nutcase?
p.s.- Hello Kitty is worried, too.