Padilla Indictment
Well “Dirty Bomber” suspect, Jose Padilla, has finally been indicted by a grand jury. Only we can no longer refer to him as “dirty bomber”. See that’s because the government didn’t indict him for allegedly plotting to detonate a radioactive “dirty bomb” or plotting to blow up apartment buildings. No, they indicted him for conspiring to “murder, kidnap, and maim” people OVERSEAS!!!
Now how can this be you ask? Weren’t we told that the reason that Padilla posed such a dangerous threat was because he was plotting attacks in the US? Weren’t those the reasons the government said they had the authority to strip Padilla of his constitutional rights and hold him indefinitely as an “enemy combatant”?
The only reason I can see for this reversal is that the government knows they had no case. They knew that as long as they didn’t have to prove their case in court, they could make whatever public allegations they could to make Padilla seem like such a threat that they could subvert the Constitution. That’s why the government kept appealing to avoid bringing the case before the courts. (It’s recently come out that another reason Padilla wasn’t charged with the “dirty bomb” plot is because the allegations came from two top Al-Qaeda leaders. Both men may have been subjected to harsh questioning, which could open up claims by defense lawyers that the testimonies were the result of torture. Their testimony might also reveal classified information about the secret CIA detention facilities where the men are thought to be held.) When finally faced with a showdown, the government chose to avoid the confrontation.
The indictments were handed down just two days before the deadline for the government to file legal briefs with the Supreme Court as to why they should be allowed to continue to keep Padilla in indefinite detention without his constitutional rights. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said the case before the court is now "moot." Unresolved is more like it.
Padilla’s lawyers do not intend to drop their request that the case be heard by the Supreme Court. They want Padilla’s status clarified. The government has only said he is no longer being held in custody as an “enemy combatant”. But his lawyers claim that that answer, in essence, gives them authority to continue to hold Padilla regardless of the outcome of his trial. The essential question has yet to be answered: Does the President have the authority to detain American citizens indefinitely without charge or trial?
By avoiding having that answer clearly defined by the Supreme Court, the Bush administration has retained the power to repeat what it has done to Padilla to any American citizen.
(Originally posted on Yahoo360)
Now how can this be you ask? Weren’t we told that the reason that Padilla posed such a dangerous threat was because he was plotting attacks in the US? Weren’t those the reasons the government said they had the authority to strip Padilla of his constitutional rights and hold him indefinitely as an “enemy combatant”?
The only reason I can see for this reversal is that the government knows they had no case. They knew that as long as they didn’t have to prove their case in court, they could make whatever public allegations they could to make Padilla seem like such a threat that they could subvert the Constitution. That’s why the government kept appealing to avoid bringing the case before the courts. (It’s recently come out that another reason Padilla wasn’t charged with the “dirty bomb” plot is because the allegations came from two top Al-Qaeda leaders. Both men may have been subjected to harsh questioning, which could open up claims by defense lawyers that the testimonies were the result of torture. Their testimony might also reveal classified information about the secret CIA detention facilities where the men are thought to be held.) When finally faced with a showdown, the government chose to avoid the confrontation.
The indictments were handed down just two days before the deadline for the government to file legal briefs with the Supreme Court as to why they should be allowed to continue to keep Padilla in indefinite detention without his constitutional rights. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said the case before the court is now "moot." Unresolved is more like it.
Padilla’s lawyers do not intend to drop their request that the case be heard by the Supreme Court. They want Padilla’s status clarified. The government has only said he is no longer being held in custody as an “enemy combatant”. But his lawyers claim that that answer, in essence, gives them authority to continue to hold Padilla regardless of the outcome of his trial. The essential question has yet to be answered: Does the President have the authority to detain American citizens indefinitely without charge or trial?
By avoiding having that answer clearly defined by the Supreme Court, the Bush administration has retained the power to repeat what it has done to Padilla to any American citizen.
(Originally posted on Yahoo360)
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