Washington – Congress approved landmark changes Thursday night to the nation’s system of interrogating and prosecuting terrorism suspects, preparing the ground for possible military trials for key al-Qaeda members under rules that critics say will draw stiff constitutional challenges.
The Senate joined the House in embracing President Bush’s view that the battle against terrorism justifies the imposition of extraordinary limits on defendants’ traditional rights in the courtroom.
They include restrictions on a suspect’s ability to challenge his detention, examine all evidence against him and bar testimony allegedly acquired through coercion of witnesses.
The Senate’s 65-34 vote marked a victory for Bush and fellow Republicans a month before the Nov. 7 elections as their party tries to make anti-terrorism a signature campaign issue.
Underscoring that strategy, House Republicans on Thursday night approved a bill to authorize Bush’s warrantless wiretapping program, adding it to their list of accomplishments even though it has no chance of Senate passage before this weekend’s scheduled adjournment.
Both of Colorado’s senators – Republican Wayne Allard and Democrat Ken Salazar – voted for the military-tribunal bill, but Salazar said he had “concerns” about it. He called it “the best bill we could reasonably expect in this highly charged political environment” but said Congress should review the measure in five years.
Allard was more wholehearted with his support. “This compromise still allows us to protect our sources and information gathered on terrorists while … ensuring that those we capture are treated in a fair manner,” he said.
Democrats resisted both measures and nearly amended the detainee bill to allow foreigners designated as enemy combatants to challenge their captivity by filing habeas corpus appeals with the federal courts.
But Republicans held fast, gambling that Democrats will fail in their bid to convince voters that the GOP is sacrificing justice and fairness in the name of battling terrorists and winning elections.
“As our troops risk their lives to fight terrorism, this bill will ensure they are prepared to defeat today’s enemies and address tomorrow’s threats,” Bush said after the vote.
With control of both houses possibly at stake this fall, Thursday’s debates were often impassioned and deeply partisan.
House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, called Democrats “dangerous.” Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the nation is losing its “moral compass.”
The Senate approved the detainee legislation after Bush’s allies narrowly fended off five amendments. The vote on final passage drew support from 53 Republicans and 12 Democrats, while 32 Democrats, one independent and one Republican – Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island – voted nay.
Judiciary Committee chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., voted for the bill after telling reporters earlier that he would oppose it because it is “patently unconstitutional on its face.”
He particularly cited its denial of the habeas corpus right to military detainees. In an interview Thursday night, Specter said he decided to back the bill because it has several good items, “and the court will clean it up” by striking the habeas corpus provisions.
In late June, the Supreme Court triggered the congressional action by striking down Bush’s earlier system for trying suspects in military commissions. The bill is designed to legalize military commissions and clarify interrogation techniques CIA officers may use on terrorism suspects considered “unlawful enemy combatants,” who are granted fewer protections than are prisoners of war.
