Related Federal Cases
Holder Opposes Legislation Blocking Guantanamo Detainee Transfers
WASHINGTON—Attorney General Eric Holder expressed opposition to Section 1116 of the proposed 2011 Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, which would prohibit the transfer of detainees from the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the United States for any purpose.
Holder wrote to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in a letter dated December 9, 2010, stating that the provision would ‘unwisely restrict the ability of the Executive branch to prosecute alleged terrorists in Federal courts or military commissions in the United States as well as its ability to incarcerate those convicted in such tribunals.’
Holder emphasized the importance of using ‘every lawful instrument of national power to ensure that terrorists are brought to justice and can no longer threaten American lives.’ He noted that the President’s National Archives speech in May 2009 reflected a determination to use prosecutions in Article III courts as a powerful tool in the fight against terrorism.
Section 1116, Holder argued, would be an ‘extreme and risky encroachment on the authority of the Executive branch to determine when and where to prosecute terrorist suspects.’ The provision would undermine his ability as Attorney General to prosecute cases in Article III courts, thereby taking away one of the most potent weapons in the fight against terrorism.
Holder urged Reid and McConnell to remove Section 1116 from the bill or any other appropriations bill, citing the potential for ‘serious implications for the impartial administration of justice’ if Congress were to restrict the discretion of the Executive branch to prosecute terrorists in Article III courts.
The Attorney General warned that Section 1116 would be a ‘mistake to tie the hands of the President and his national security advisers now.’ He emphasized that the exercise of prosecutorial discretion has always been and must remain an Executive branch function.
Holder’s letter serves as a stark warning to lawmakers considering the legislation, emphasizing the potential consequences of restricting the Executive branch’s authority to address terrorism.
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Key Facts
- State: Federal
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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