Bingaman Amendment

Habeus Corpus and other legal mumbo jumbo. Last week, a seemingly abhorrent bill was voted up by the Senate. I say "seemingly" because while habeus corpus is a linchpin of the rule of law, the measure, as passed, also provided for congressional oversight and other legal protections for GWOTthehellarewedoing detainees. Regardless of these protections, habeus corpus is too important to send down the slippery slope of making exceptions.

On Thursday, the Senate passed a measure that would deny foreigners declared to be "unlawful enemy combatants" the right to a hearing under the principle known as habeas corpus, which dates to Magna Carta. Instead, the measure would mandate an automatic review by a federal court of the status of the inmates now at Guantánamo Bay and any future prisoners of that kind. It would exclude coerced confessions from that review, and place important new controls over Guantánamo operations.

I was happy to learn that these considerations are what influenced Senator Wyden's "yea" vote; I was rather stymied at first that he would go along with such a thing. His aide also informed be, before I could even ask, that Wyden intends to vote in favor of the Bingaman Amendment, which would restore habeus corpus for detainees. I hope everyone will urge their Senators to support this.