Washington – The Bush administration’s plan for trying terror suspects would let prosecutors withhold classified evidence from the accused, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Wednesday, holding to a hard line despite senators’ concern.
Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gonzales also said a forthcoming proposal would permit hearsay to be used as evidence in terror trials.
Neither approach is permitted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which is used for military courts-martial.
Gonzales’ testimony provided the latest details on how the administration would retool the tribunals that President Bush established in 2001 for trying terrorism detainees, a system that the Supreme Court rejected in June.
Bush officials have yet to unveil their legislative proposal, which is still being examined by military lawyers.
Some officials have spoken about enacting a system that would come close to the restrictive rules the tribunals were to use.
Some Republicans as well as Democrats in Congress have said the new procedures should be less severe, like those used in courts-martial.
The U.S. military code “should constitute the starting point for a new procedure,” Gonzales said. “At the same time, the military commission procedures should be different from the procedures used to try our own service members.”
The Bush administration’s proposal drew continued skepticism from lawmakers, with questions raised about the authority it would grant the defense secretary and whether barring a defendant from classified evidence would be fair.
“We haven’t reached a final decision on how we are going to handle this,” said Sen. John Warner, chairman of the Armed Services Committee.
Earlier in the day during a separate hearing by the Judiciary Committee, chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said he would oppose any legislation that would authorize the defense secretary to determine what crimes may be tried by military tribunals – reportedly a provision in an early draft of the administration’s proposal.
Steven Bradbury, the top legal adviser at the Justice Department, confirmed the administration was considering granting the defense secretary such authority but added: “I would not say that the secretary of defense would be creating new crimes from whole cloth, but rather … recognizing offenses that exist under the laws of war and providing for their prosecution in the military process.”
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said Wednesday he expects a detainee bill to reach the floor in September.
