Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.Lord ActonI agree with
Mcjoan. A political crony like Alberto Gonzales has no business being Attoney General. His argument before the Senate Judiciary Committee would be laughed out of a law school class.
Specter: Now wait a minute, wait a minute. The Constitution says you can't take it away except in the case of invasion or rebellion. Doesn't that mean you have the right of habeas corpus?
Gonzales: I meant by that comment that the Constitution doesn't say that every individual in the United States or every citizen has or is assured the right of habeas corpus. It doesn't say that. It simply says that the right of habeas corpus shall not be suspended.
What this breaks down to is Gonzales is playing with words and endorsing the administration's refusal to give detainees the right to a speedy trial. That is one of the basic freedoms America has. A country like China detains people, locks them up indefinitely, and declares them a threat to the state. Gonzales is pushing for the executive branch to have the same power as a dictatorship.
The President currently has the power to
declare any American citizen an enemy combatant. He prosecutes people with evidence they can not see. He lies about the
use of torture. As he holds prisoners in
secret prisons. This White House is no lover of freedom.
Update: Senator Patrick Leahy grills Alberto Gonzales about why
Maher Arar was sent to Syria and tortured.
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