Bush to Supreme Court: "Go Cheney Yourself"

by soccerdad

The Justice Department has made filings in the US District Court in DC

The purpose of the filings is to make sure that the detainees in Gitmo get no relief despite the recent Supreme Court ruling.

The filing says that the 13 petitions, which were filed on behalf of nearly 60 individual detainees, raise “a number of important common questions of law.”
Paraphrased, here are the common questions it lists:
1. Do the detainees have any constitutional right to the aid of a lawyer in their habeas cases?
2. Does the government have the authority to monitor lawyer-client discussions to protect national security?
3. Do the detainees have any constitutional right to due process?
4. May the detainees challenge their detention under treaties or international law?
5. Must the habeas cases be postponed until the Pentagon finishes its new round of proceedings (before Combatant Status Review Tribunals) to make “fresh determinations”:of whether to continue detaining the foreign nationals?
6. Should the habeas judges defer to the rulings by those tribunals?

The government has made clear it will ask the judges to answer “No” to questions 1, 3 and 4, and “yes” to questions 2, 5 and 6. ................ that the Pentagon’s internal review tribunals are the government’s chosen method for dealing with these captives, to the point of nearly extinguishing the habeas pleas

I find it Orwellian that the administration argues on one hand that in essence that they are above the law and are the ultimate authority with regards to this issue but then will argue that the law protects them and the are not responsible for anything, torture etc..