Congressional Democrats join with Republicans to maintain military commissions at Guantána

Whether any legislation that eventually emerges simply ratifies the existing commissions and the procedures laid down by the Bush administration, or introduces modifications to make the flouting of due process less brazen, the central purpose of the effort is to circumvent the substance, if not the letter, of the Supreme Court’s ruling.

The 5-3 decision, authored by Justice John Paul Stevens, not only rejects the Bush administration’s asserted power to unilaterally establish the commissions, without congressional sanction, it also insists that any procedure for trying detainees conform to standards of due process laid down by both the Geneva Conventions and the Uniform Code of Military Justice of the United States.

Following the ruling, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner (Republican of Virginia) and the ranking Democrat on the committee, Carl Levin of Michigan, announced in a joint statement that the committee would hold hearings on the legal foundations and procedures for military tribunals “in preparation for the consideration in September of such legislation as may be required.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (Republican of Pennsylvania) promptly introduced on the Senate floor the “Unprivileged Combatant Act,” which, he said, would give legislative approval to the existing tribunals while addressing the legal requirements of the Supreme Court ruling. He announced that his committee would hold hearings on the proposal July 11, immediately after the Senate reconvenes following the July 4 Independence Day recess.

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